Since I was a little girl, I have been going to
Willoughby’s at the Waterfront for sushi and all the old waiters know me by
name. My favourite fishmonger there is called George, a very tall man with a big
smile. Every time I see George, he asks me about my family. One day, he asked me how my mother was, he was surprised to know that she was now married and he asked me about the wedding and my new stepdad. I told him that one thing I liked about him was how much he adores my mom that he had tears in his eyes when he said his wedding vows.
George smiled and proceeded to ask me if my mom was wearing a veil on her wedding day, I told him she hadn't but asked curiously why he was asking. Then George told me a story I've never forgotten, to this day.
For many brides, one of the most important things
about their wedding is their dress. But in a little town of Ondijiva in the
Kunene province of Angola, a 20-year-old bride-to-be called felt differently.
Ema Vanu considered a veil her wedding-essential; she felt that lifting a veil to reveal herself to the groom was a magic. Ema decided to rent a simple and inexpensive wedding dress for her wedding day and started to search for the
perfect veil.
She went to many fabric stores and milliners, but
she thought that all the veils she saw were too gaudy and made her look like her
pet parrot Gogo. Finally she entered a shop that had a long counter and few
customers. The grandmother of the owner who overheard their conversation
appeared from the back room and placed her soft, wrinkled hand of Ema’s
shoulder and said softly “I have something very special for you. For more than ten years we
have had a veil that was returned to us by a heartbroken young woman whose love had died on the morning of their wedding. He had been trying to save two children from a
burning house on his way to church. The poor bride was so heartbroken that she returned
the veil to us before spending the rest of her life in a convent.
Many brides-to-be who hear this story
fear that it will bring them bad luck. But….” , the lady continued with a sweet
toothless smile, “…I happen to think that it is quite the opposite and that
this veil carries with it so much unfulfilled love and hope and faith that it
can only bring blessings.”
Ema was enchanted and intrigued with the story she had just heard and she asked if she could possibly take a look at the veil, the old lady
disappeared into the back room and returned with simple white veil made
of fine Florentine lace. The moment Ema laid eyes on the veil she knew it was the one she had been looking for so she thanked the old lady thoroughly and made a wise purchase.
On Ema's wedding day she felt the exact feeling she was hoping for when lifting her veil and saw tears in her lover’s eyes. Men in
Angola rarely cry at weddings so this was a unique occurrence. They lived happily together, became each other’s best friends and had many
children. Ema mourned deeply when her husband died of malaria. At his funeral she
wore the same veil to hide her sorrow that had oppositely revealed her joy thirty odd years
ago.
During the funeral, a young woman came up to Ema
hesitantly, first expressing her condolences. She then commented on the veil and exclaimed how incredibly beautiful it was
and that she wished she could find one like it for her upcoming wedding. Ema
listened quietly and then offered to lend it to her. Of course she was invited,
and it was a moving occasion that reminded her of all the joy she had shared
with her husband. And an unusual thing happened: the husband-to-be of her new
friend had tears in his eyes.
And if you are a romantic and have an imagination,
you can guess the rest…for the rest of her life, Ema never lacked in friends as
she lent her veil to young brides and was invited to over three hundred
weddings…where even the toughest men were moved by her magic veil.
“So whenever I visit my mother in my home town, I
have some wedding to go to”, laughed George.
X Zo
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