by Gauri Trivedi
[box]Two people who have absolutely nothing in common share a seemingly similar fate – they both escaped death narrowly only to die a few days later in another mishap. What is there for us humans to deduce out of these two events? Gauri Trivedi shares her point of view.[/box]Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring journalist, narrowly escaped a shootout at a food court in a mall at Toronto on June 2, 2012. She was shot dead on July 20, 2012 at a movie theater in Denver, Colorado as she watched the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
On May 31, 2009, Johanna Ganthaler, retired, and on vacation, missed her flight from Brazil to France. The said Air France flight 447 never made it to its destination and everybody on board perished when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. A couple of days later Johanna lost her life in a road accident when her car veered across the road and crashed head-on with a truck in the city of Kufstein, Austria.
Both tragedies, almost three years apart, seemingly have nothing in common, except for the deadly outcome. Jessica and Johanna, lived and died a world apart, an invisible thread of (mis)fortune connecting them.
Makes one wonder if it is fate? To be saved from one disaster and killed by another? Were these people destined to die? They first made news with their miraculous survival and then in their horrific death, a paradox if you look at the short span of time in between.
Their escape was deemed a miracle, a stroke of luck, and believers would even claim that a guardian angel looked out for them. Their death brought out the contrary. It was as if their time had run out and the blessings bestowed upon them earlier were snatched away abruptly by a cruel twist of fate. The jubilance as short lived as their assignation with luck.
Jessica left the food court minutes before the alleged shooter opened fire. Later, she checked the map and figured she would have been a probable victim had she still been in the food court. Unknowingly, she stepped away from a tragedy only to walk into another just a month and half later.
Weeks before its release, fans started buying tickets for the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the much-awaited Batman movie. Across the U.S., long queues formed outside theatres that were scheduled to hold midnight premieres of the movie. Jessica and her friend were amongst the many movie enthusiasts who went to watch the first show. As the movie progressed, reel action turned into real horror. A gunman wearing a gas mask and body armour opened fire, randomly killing 12 people and injuring 59 others. Jessica was shot first in the leg and then in the head. Her injuries proved fatal.
Johanna was on vacation with her husband and was probably disappointed when they missed their flight to Paris on account of late arrival at the airport. Four hours later, they must have thanked their lucky stars for being alive. Not bogged down by the flight’s disaster, the couple decided to continue with their vacation to Europe. Unfortunately for Johanna, she missed the doomed flight but could not flee her destiny. Couple of days later, she died in a car wreck in Austria, colliding with a truck head on.
Their death, just like their borrowed existence, made news. And as you connect the dots you see that Jessica and Johanna got a precious something not everybody gets. A new lease of life; a second chance; a rare opportunity to live again. And for the briefest period of time, they escaped the inevitable.
The transformation in perception after the surreal feeling of being alive must have been an unparalleled experience. The fortune and the tribulation of these two women cease to be mere news if you can read the spiritual implication between the lines.
The same force that took their lives also saved it once. There has to be a reason. Maybe an unfinished business or something they were destined to do before finally leaving this earth. And because I am a believer in God, I suspect it was His way of making them value life and their loved ones even more before he finally took them away. In a way they were blessed to have realized the gift of life before it ended. For many of us, that never happens.
Sources:
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-06-11/news/17925783_1_flight-car-crash-air-france
Gauri Trivedi is a former business law professional who makes the law at home these days. A Mom to two lovely daughters, her days are filled with constant learning and non- stop fun. All of her “mommy time” goes into writing and finds itself on her blog pages http://messyhomelovelykids.blogspot.com/ and http://pastaandparatha.blogspot.com/ and if she is not writing she is definitely reading something!
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I liked it, especially the thought that “In a way they were blessed to have realized the gift of life before it ended.” I would have never though about the kind of incidence in this way!
Good job Gauri, expecting to read more from you 🙂
So True, Gauri. You write so well.