This week’s kanji is one of the very first kanji I memorized and learned to write in a perfection. And I never forget about it and about how and whence the strokes of this kanji went.
It’s a kanji for “love” 愛 (Jap. あい|Ai).
From top to bottom, the kanji would goes like this, “finger” (more of a “claw”), “a roof”, “a heart” and “running.” Remember your first love? Oh, I do. I remember seeing (well, in my case, it was more like sniffing as I’ve always a bit keener on my nose than my eyes) her, sensing a whiff of her soap which frankly, I’ve never ever smelled on others, honest. Anyway, I used to be very shy and generally runs away or stuttering when it comes to social interaction with girls. In fact, I think it could be said that I’m still uncomfortable around girls until I got married and believe me or not, I was kind a reborn as a totally different person especially in regard of my social ability toward girls and it does seems that girls are usually more comfortable interacting with married man.
Back to the topic, if you please. She was a nice girl, her hair is reddish, and as I’ve said earlier she had this smell which is unique to herself. However, like most girls from a small town, she opts to stay close to her hometown which is you know, kinda boring. Had I chose to stay at my hometown, I wouldn’t be writing this, or reading Terry Pratchett, or seeing as many films as I’m right now. So, here I am, married to someone energetic enough I could see to spent my entire life with, in a place where sleeping at 9 p.m. is for babies and there she goes, in a place where time stops, and where sleeping at 8 p.m. is considered normal by all means.
In conjunction with this week’s kanji, given that she was once my classmate, and I was so shy, whenever I see her, or getting a whiff or her smell, my heart beats out twice as fast until I need to put my fingers on my chest to make it slow, and while doing so trying to keep my feet from running away hiding. Sounds lame, sounds chicken, I know, but that’s the truth, and that’s what made my process on remembering this kanji that much easier.
So, one more time, “I remember my first love. So vivid that I used to felt my heart beats twice as fast until I have to press my fingers on my chest (which is in a sense, the roof of my heart) while trying to keep my legs from running away in hiding.” Easy enough?