Third in a series
Re “A Shot Rang Out in Mademoiselle’s Direction Changing Everything”
The spurned Iranian officer who shot and paralyzed Mademoiselle Marika in a jealous fit served his three-year jail sentence, but when he was freed, he found the act had ruined his life. He may never again have been happy.
Marika remained hospitalized for months.
Doctors tried every known remedy. They came up empty. Her faithful fiancé stayed by her bedside for these months. When she learned of her fate, though, she returned her engagement ring and asked him to leave her and live his own life fully.
Eventually he left for Greece. No one heard from him anymore.
In those days there were neither counseling sessions nor psychological help. Most people asked God for help and for miracles. The words, “Ensha Allah,” “If God wants” were and still are in the minds and mouths of most people. The elders always said: “Be patient. This is life. Many things happen. God will help.”
After Marika was discharged from the hospital, it took her awhile to make peace with her situation. She had lost the control of her entire body. Her body did not exist anymore. Unable to move any parts of her body, she could not even budge a knuckle. Her head was like the cross that stands still on the top of a church, announcing the location.
Marika’s head was announcing that a human body used to be present from the neck down.
Thank God what was in that round hard ball was functioning miraculously. She had the presence of her entire exceptional intellect. She knew her French, her Greek and her brain function was one hundred per cent perfect. By God’s miracle, she was gifted with an amazing wall of courage. She behaved in such a way that after one talked to her, one would not see her physical shortcomings. Instead, you would surely o be touched by her spirit.
As the only daughter of her parents, they were happy to advance her the capital that she requested. She opened up a pre-school up to the sixth grade. She was the principal of the school. Organizing all programs and activities, she hired teachers and was even teaching French to the students. Mlle. Marika’s school became a renowned private school, was desired and attended by many wealthy families and their children.
(To be continued)
Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and four children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published four books in America. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com.
