I am folded in half. I think it is interesting how every bend in your body is a kind of half. I bend over, my whole body is suddenly cut in half; I am half of myself. I bend my arm, at the elbow my arm is now half of itself. It is the same with a leg, bending at the knee. The neck, ankle, toes, and fingers all have halves with joints marking the crease.
Memories are halved as well. The ability to know where the midpoint is, the main crease, takes time. Mulling over a memory until it is already a story in your head, a noun taking shape and form in a way that you never thought it could.
I have a multitude of midpoints. A multitude of creases that, when laid out, could be folded into a million things. But I am folded into a paper (a)crane, with wings, head, body, and tail. The art of (b) origami creating the crane that has become me just as I have become it. Forever and always, I'm folded into the same thing; a constant amongst all the inconsistencies.
My sister, my bad good-luck-love, the boys who have abused and rejected me, the grandparents who overlooked me, the one who loved me and then discarded me, the midpoints in all of those lead to one, all connected by a common string that lines them up; rows upon rows of cranes built and constructed, connected by one common theme...I can't help but think of the love that I have shared and the love that I have lost.
Every memory moved, resonated and trickled into my subconscious at once and connected themselves. My multitude of creases, painstakingly smoothed over by time and reflection have built the cranes into what they are today.
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a. The crane is a mystic creature. It is believed to live for a thousand years. It has become a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times.
b. Origami comes from two Japanese words - Ori (folded) and Kami (paper). The Japanese word for paper "kami" is the same written word as the Japanese word for spirit.
YOU ARE READING
Paper Cranes: And the Multitude of Folds
Non-FictionIt can be so hard to describe yourself. In a job interview, they may ask you to describe yourself in three words, giving them the pros and cons of you as a person. You have to give an answer and know an answer by heart and be confident in that. I w...
