“We were both the same age when we got married. Maybe 17. We spent almost 50 years together. Cried together and laughed together. But last year she passed away and left me alone. She would come and sit next to me and help me make baskets and we would talk for hours. When lunch was ready she would bring it to me. She was happy woman. Today, I feel she is somewhere around. Every once in a while I feel her presence and turn around to see if she is at her spot. Sometimes I hear her whisper and say, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.’ ” (Nati Kazi Maharjan, Chapagaun, Lalitpur)
