THE BEGGAR AND THE SAMURAI

A brave samurai is said to have lived on the island of Hokaido in northern Japan. He was a feudal lord who owned large areas of land, thus having many subjects. Everything acquired after several battles, commanding the Emperor's troops.

Once, after a war, he returned to his homeland and decided he was going to get married. He was a strong and handsome man, and when the news spread that the Samurai wanted to marry, women all over the island were anxious to marry him. The most beautiful women on the island and from other more distant islands visited him in his palace, and many of them offered him, in addition to their beauty and charms, many riches. None, however, satisfied him enough to become his wife.

One day, a ragged and simple young woman arrived at the samurai's palace and, with a lot of struggle, managed to get an audience:

“I have nothing material to offer you, I can only give you the great love I feel for you”. As proof, she added: "If you allow me, I can do something to show you that love."

This aroused the samurai's curiosity, who asked him to say what he could do.

“I'm going to spend 100 days on your porch, without eating or drinking anything, exposed to the rain, dew, sun and cold at night. If I can last these 100 days, you will make me your wife.”

The samurai, surprised (though not moved), accepted the challenge. He said, “I accept. If a woman can do all that for me, she is worthy of being my wife.”

Having said this, the woman began her sacrifice.

The days began to pass and the woman bravely endured the worst storms. Many times she felt that she fainted from hunger and cold, but she encouraged herself by imagining that she would finally be at the side of her great love.

From time to time, the samurai would show his face from the comfort of his room to see her and give a thumbs-up.

At night the temperature dropped to several degrees below zero and that in itself must have been a great deprivation because she didn't have a single blanket.

This is how time passed: 20 days, 50 days… The people of the island were happy because they thought: Finally we will have a wife for our lord!

90 days... The samurai continued to poke his head around from time to time to see how his suitor's sacrifice was faring: "This woman is amazing", he thought to himself, and gave her encouragement again.

Day 99 finally arrived and all the inhabitants of the island began to gather around the palace to see the moment when that woman would become the samurai's wife. They were counting the hours, at 12 o'clock that day, they would have a wedding.

The poor woman, in her great simplicity, was still affected by extreme weakness and illness... Then something unexpected happened: at 11 pm on the hundredth day, the brave woman surrendered and decided to withdraw from that palace. She took a sad look at the samurai who was staring at her in surprise and left without saying a word.

People were shocked! No one could understand why that brave woman had given up just an extra hour to see her dreams come true. She had already endured so much!

Upon arriving at her house, her father already knew about her withdrawal and asked: “Why did you give up being the wife of the great samurai?”

And, to her astonishment, she replied, “I had 99 days and 23 hours on his porch enduring all kinds of calamities and he was unable to release me from that sacrifice. He saw me suffering and only encouraged me to continue, without showing the slightest bit of compassion for my suffering. I've waited all this time for a glimmer of kindness and consideration that never came. Then I understood: such a selfish, reckless and blind person, who only thinks about himself, does not deserve my love!”

This makes us reflect: when you love someone and feel that to keep that person by your side you have to suffer, sacrifice your essence and even beg, even if it hurts, withdraw. And not so much because things get difficult, but because those who don't make you feel valued, who aren't able to give you the best of themselves, will be unable to reciprocate the commitment and dedication you give them and, DEFINITELY, you deserve a love the size of you.

This short story was adapted from the website: Rincón del Tibet