Eigo de Essay
Consequences of Saving Someone(or Something)
I went for a walk in my neighborhood today. There are shrubs of azaleas on the way that divide the roadway and the sidewalk. In the corner of my eye, I saw someone fall onto the shrubs and get buried in them. The thick azalea bushes are only about 50 centimeters high. I got closer and saw that it was an elderly man struggling to get out of there. If it had been just a pavement he fell onto, it would have been easy for him to get up. I don't know how he ended up being trapped in the shrubs. He wasn't hit by a car or pushed by someone. He might have lost his balance while tying his shoestring or picking up something on the pavement. He was all by himself in there, and the closest passer-by was me. He seized some azalea branches to pull himself up, but the thin twigs broke in the process. His legs were over the shrubs, and his hands didn't reach the ground. I could clearly see it was a hopeless case. I asked him if he was alright, and he groaned in reply. Seeing my hand held out, he gripped it with his. I put my weight backward and pulled him up slowly. Luckily, he was a slight person, probably lighter than me. He got back on the ground and thanked me profusely. Other than some scratches, he was in good shape. When I turned my back and walked away, I almost felt like I had been a gunman in a western movie who saved someone's life. That night, I remembered two Japanese folktales. One is "Urashima Taro". A fisherman saves a turtle's life and is invited to a gorgeous palace under the sea as a token of its appreciation. After enjoying parties, he is given a treasure box as a farewell gift. Back in his village, he learns that many years have passed while he was away. When he opens the box, white smoke envelopes him, and he instantly becomes an old man. The other story is "The Crane Wife", in which a guy saves a crane from a trap. A beautiful woman knocks on his door late that night and says she is lost and if it is alright to stay for the night. She becomes his wife and starts weaving every night, telling him never to look at her in the weaving room. He makes money selling the cloth she weaves. One night, he peeks into the room out of curiosity and finds the crane he rescued at the loom. She flew away the next day. From these two stories, you can say that we have a tradition of returning a favor, but also learns that good fortune can be reversed. The old man I rescued from the shrubs didn't knock on my door that night or take me to a palace. That'd be better than aging instantly or finding a hard-working bird behind the door.
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