Usually to parents,
their babies are the most beautiful creatures on
earth no matter what others might think. Perhaps, the
parental love is so strong that it prevents couples
to make an objective judgement on their new-born
baby's actual beauty. And thank God for that. Heaven
forbid when the parents find their own child ugly
because that goes beyond the understanding of our
most natural motherly or fatherly love.
Well, this is what
happened to Mr. and Mrs. Oda. They found their
new-born baby girl so unattractive that they were
embarrassed to show her to friends and relatives.
They would keep the baby locked inside the house,
cursing that stork which brought the ugly kid into
their household. Days and months went by, the infant
grew up like any normal child would, but still the
ugliness that fate so cruelly bestowed remained with
it.
On her fourth
birthday, the Oda family decided to take the baby for
a dingy boat ride at a nearby lake. It was one of
those rare occasions that the baby would get to see
the outside world, so with obvious delight, she was
reaching over the side and stirring the water with
her little fingers. What could happen to her? Mommy
and Daddy were just inches away, with their usual
glum faces, looking over her. She looked at them and
smiled, feeling safe, continued playing with water
leaning over the side of the dinghy.
Miura-san was
enjoying his third Kirin Beer and marveling the
sound of the new motor on his little boat. He was
glad that there was no one else at the lake except
for that couple with a little kid in a dinghy boat
far away. He took another swig of the bitter beer and
thinking it's about time to head for the shore.
Suddenly he heard a scream and cries for help. The
couple on the far side of the lake were flailing
their arms and shouting "Daskete" (help).
The kid was not on the dinghy. Miura-san rushed over
to their location and found out that the child had
fallen overboard. The mother was crying and looking
into the water from the dinghy while the father was
in the water diving in and out. Miura-san also jumped
in to help but their effort was of no avail. They
could not find the girl in the lake. The rescue team
was summoned and after couple of hours of exhaustive
searches the body was found. The ugly Oda girl had
drowned to her death.
Few years passed and
Mrs. Oda gave birth to another child. And this time
the fate was kind to them, for the baby - again a
girl - was overwhelmingly beautiful. There was a big
celebration and Odas invited all their friends and
relatives to come see the new baby. Indeed, she was
their little bundle of joy. Whenever they had a
chance, the Odas would take her out in the stroller
and all the passers-by would exclaim how beautiful
their baby was. Days and months passed, as the little
girl grew up as any normal child would and also
became more and more beautiful. Mr. and Mrs. Oda were
very happy but the distant memory of the dead child
remained in their mind.
Perhaps to appease
that painful memory, they decided to take a dinghy
ride again, for the first time since that incident,
at the same lake on their new child's fourth
birthday. At first the child was afraid to be on the
dinghy, but soon began to enjoy the ride. She reached
over the side and began playfully stirring the water
with her little fingers. After all what could happen
to her? Both Daddy and Mommy were just inches away
from her. She looked up at their cheerful faces and
gave them a big smile. They smiled in return and told
her to be careful. The child went back to her
amusement, leaning on the side of the dinghy to play
with the water. Then suddenly she turned around and
almost nonchalantly said, "Mom, Dad, please do
not push me into the lake, again."
