a love that went beyond words

attended a wedding. right next to a temple. religious. indian. deaf. the union of 2 persons who are passionate about life and people. i felt privileged to have been invited. i nearly walked into the temple though. just beside the temple, a flight of staircase led me to the hall where the wedding was taking place. there were shoe racks but shoes dotted the ground instead. i took mine off before ascending the stairs.

sat next to my friend and her twin daughters, leonie chen yitong and alicia chen jing. cute! they were curious as to why i wasn't wearing my shoes. i looked around me and realised that everyone had theirs! it wasn't mandatory to take shoes off. i didn't know :P i felt comfortable being barefoot though but i responded to the urging of another friend. went down, found my shoes and slipped my feet into them.

the bride's entry - her look was one of iron certainty as she walked towards her life's destiny. she was going to be anchored in her husband's love.

although i'm a hearing person, it was ironic that i understood the signed language somewhat rather than the spoken. see, i knew sign language but i didn't know the language of my friends' native tongue.

deep rich colours. glittery jewelleries. sweet scent of flowers. everyone watched as the ceremony took place with the accompaniment of 'live' religious music. after the indication from the sign interpreter that the couple was then 'officially' married, a line formed that snaked its way to the stage so that everyone could shake the couple's hands and offer blessings. that was also when one's 'red' packet could be given. before attending the wedding, i asked my indian friend if there was a special envelope i could use. he said that a simple white envelope could do the job as well. i decided to use the traditional chinese red packet. after all, it had the chinese character on it that meant blessings. i thought it would be perfect!

i felt excited as my turn came. in fact, i had 2 turns because i didn't take a picture with the couple the first time around and so i decided to line up again :) the look in the couple's eyes were sincere, gentle and full of gratitude. a love that went beyond mere words.

my life experience had certainly been enriched.