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THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP by KSENIA HAPIJ The ancient philosopher Aristotle described friendship as "a single soul dwelling in two bodies”. One can assume that friends are bom in common circumstances and that they share similar experiences. But that is not necessarily so. Anya and I met by chance. If it hadn't been fate or, for certain God's will, our paths would never have crossed. We were brought together through a stranger's spontaneous gesture of generosity. Anna Dushchak was bom on October 15, 1959 and grew up in the village of Tysivtsi which is part of Bukovyna in southwestern Ukraine. She spent her childhood, like other children in her village, going to school, taking the cow out to pasture and working in the fields. When she was sixteen, she became ill. For the longest time her doctors couldn't seem to form a diagnosis, and when they finally did, it was incorrect and consequently she was treated with the wrong medication. Finally her parents were called in and informed that since she was destined to die, treating her was pointless and she was left with no treatment at all. Well, she didn't die. Her body, however, never got out of bed again. She has been lying on her back for over twenty years, not even able to move from side to side. But with the help of kind neighbors and friends, Anya managed to rise above her physical disability. They often brought books to her bedside and through them she somehow created a world of her own where she found a creative ability and the talent to write poetiy. She accepted her fate, and her poetiy is full of love, understanding and beauty. Her weak body is home to inner peace, benevolence and wisdom, qualities that she generously shares with others. When Ukraine lifted its curtain and opened its doors to the West, my husband Ihor and I set out to visit the country of our origin, a country that our parents taught us to love from a distance. We flew into Kyiv and from there traveled to Chemivtsi. Naively, we thought that we would purchase train tickets on Good Friday and would celebrate Easter in Lviv. But these were long awaited holidays for everyone and all tickets were sold out. It looked as though my dream of hearing "Khrystos Voskres" in the church my father once attended was not going to materialize. However, we knew Vasyl and Vasyl knew Marusia and Marusia knew Oksana and somehow we found our way into a sleeping car compartment occupied by a young family that had reserved it far in advance. They were very nice people and we spent the entire trip immersed in conversation. It was a long ride and we covered many topics. By chance, I mentioned that I enjoyed poetry. The young woman pulled a small book of poetiy out of her bag and gave it to me. She suggested that if I like it, I should write to the author. And so I wrote to Anna Dushchak, never expecting her to write back. And with this first letter began a lengthy and significant correspondence. In every letter, we exchanged thoughts, wishes, dreams and new stories about our lives. Anya described her world to me in detail and I, in turn, introduced her to mine. With eveiy letter, the distance between us became smaller and somehow, though many kilometers divided us, we became close. Several years went by before I had a chance to visit Anya. Our two worlds are so very different and I had no idea what to expect. I am eleven years her senior. Would this make a difference? Would we be able to recapture the warmth that we shared in our letters in a personal meeting? Would my visit be a bother to her household? Would I be attracting attention in this completely unfamiliar environment? Would I not miss my American comforts? With such questions and apprehensions, I set out to "the other end of the world" alone. I traveled by plane, by train and by car. The trip form my home to hers is a very long haul. But with the help of kind people I found my way to her doorstep, and when I walked into her room, I veiy soon saw that all my fear were unfounded. In her modest home I found a very warm atmosphere and a generous friendship. Anya's mother has dedicated her life tending to her invalid daughter's needs. This peasant woman has a natural intelligence, remarkable sensitivity and a very gentle approach which helps Anya to maintain her dignity and her independence. She opens the door, not only of her home, but also her heart to everyone Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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