The Balcony Lady
The dark strands of hair intentionally fell forward hiding her face, she was at her last thread of survival. The tone of voice audible through the balcony door left ajar suggested relief. This was her first Covid quarantine of 14 days, our fourth of 56 days .
Sharing jokes with my British husband was the first brush of interaction, glimpsed between two strangers comforting each other in their national bonding, facing the utter unknown. Comforting the uncomfortable situation developed into a gift only given, when the vulnerable is desperately reaching out.
A trust so incomprehensible to anyone, even family members, guarding her blind spot, accompanied her to be mentally healed at The Dawn in Chiangmai. Catching the memory of those intense moments in quarantine at the Nai Lert Hotel is the story of self-faith.
Our quarantine sanction was once the ‘in’ place for ladies’ who lunch, or Embassy receptions. The marbled floor lobby, plush carpets, staff greeting us, always as we alighted from the car. My silk outfit, perquisite crocodile clutch and matching 5” high-heels with my powerful-business husband, hand-in-hand in his custom-made black-tie. We were strutting our stuff. One of the few bi-racial couples, to have lasted, condoned by advanced society yet, some believed, ingrained from biblical times, stay within your tribe.
The bi-polar effect :
Covid at its highest peak, we flew in from Singapore. This time, we were driven from the airport in what prisoners are driven to jail. The window separating the driver was glass-divided. Entering the same hotel, we were warmly greeted, both hands clasped together like a prayer, called a ‘wai’ by an unidentifiable masked staff in green plastic overalls. Their job was to cover our shoes with look-alike shower caps. Like a jail sentence, we were accompanied by two plastic enclosed humans or an alien, (my vivid imagination) by the arm, as if we were taken to their waiting UFO’s. Up the lift and rushed to our room, the darkened hallway, reminded me of a nasty event here in 2009 . A famous American Kung Foo / Hollywood film-star hanged himself in Room 352 on the same floor. A result of AEA (auto-erotic-asphyxiation) His room overlooked the pool, reported by the widely read local newspaper, with no journalistic integrity. Our room was in the opposite direction, overlooking the carpark. The change of adding another figure to room numbers was meant to confuse any curious guests; instead failed with the likes of me.
The bi-polar effect was one of life’s gift, the greatest humbling turnaround. It brings out the inner soul that sanctions the body it lives in. Maybe I shouldn’t chastise the Chinese outrageously for Covid. Instead with gratitude, through this quarantine I met the Balcony Lady.
Quarantine, soft words to define a pandemic solitary confinement in once a 5 star hotel was no less than a prison. Choice meals delivered with a door knock, wait until the steps are distant, then possible to open the door. At the beginning whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner, voracious appetite saw us gobbling down as if this was our last meal. A behavior of solitary confinement emerged; any left-over carefully packed for hunger before the next meal. We collected stacks of butter for if ? when ? rather sad, anything to save normal remnants of before. This time I got to see, engage in and found faith towards humanity, its lowest ebb and its highest.
.
Every morning, without fail, coffee time became the focus, the pull of genuine care was growing without even trying. The respect of her needs and problems was left to dignity. The deep friendship had only one ingredient: trust. The relief when she told us her son was two floors above with only a wave, and a quiet shout to re-assure each other’s heartbeats were still beating. My quiet thoughts:
Was this a deliberate ‘ineptitude workings’ of the hotel staff hired during Covid?
Sharing the connection between balconies, the unusual kind of setting allowed free flow of subjects. The Lady’s destination was Chiengmai’s The Dawn. Considered one of the best medical wellness and rehab center in Asia, well known as one of the top centers to help drug and alcohol addictions, and mental issues. Only just aware of its existence, pride of my tribe had money, foresight and the care to address a problem with the correct methods.
That moment an enormous respect for her and family and the empathy overflowed. Just under 6,000 miles travelling all the way to the unknown, in the middle of Covid, in the trust of the Dawn’s capabilities, in the trust of Thailand as a country, was an immense risk. On top of which an endurance of 14 days in quarantine, before she could get the help she needed.
The power she possessed, the courage she never lost. A fighter in everything. At the time I had little faith in my own country, little knowledge of The Dawn, little faith in Covid…..to deliver what could be an oversell. To my astonishment, they did deliver and after a few months returned home. Throughout the three plus years, we continue to text, video chats. The friendship has grown and under the love of her family, her strength is to be admired. My Balcony Lady.