I ripped the plastic and opened the box
A 61 piece jigsaw puzzle
I was ready for the arduous challenge
I laid each piece picture side up
Immediately I spotted a pattern: two large human figures
I started piecing pieces together

I started with the right side of the puzzle
The image of a white dress was quickly pieced together
A wedding ceremony?
After 30 minutes, I finished the image of a soon-to-be-wed woman
She wore a simple beautiful white dress with a full veil complementing a beautiful sunset in the background

Half-complete I start with the other half of the puzzle
I sorted the jigsaw pieces looking for body parts of the second figure
Soon I discerned parts of a head, some clothing material, one leg, one half leg, one hand, a white cap
But for some reason I could not find the eyes, the other hand, and the other half of the leg
Befuddled, I started to piece the pieces together
The resulting image was a male figure with clean white clothes contrasted with the background of rubble
It was still incomplete as I needed three more pieces
I was still missing his eyes and half of his right leg and his left hand

I then noticed a plastic bag with a booklet in the jigsaw puzzle box
I picked up the bag and to my delight I found the three missing pieces
When I laid the pieces picture side up in preparation for the final insertions I was taken aback
Two of the pieces were just solid colors–white and grey–definitely not a visible body part
To my relief the last piece at least contained his missing left hand
I inserted the white puzzle piece where his eyes were supposed to be
I then placed the grey puzzle piece where his missing right leg half should be
Letting out a sigh the final piece was of the man’s left hand, resulting in the joining of the hands of the woman and man

The puzzle was complete
A wedding ceremony with a man and woman holding hands
The sun shone bright amidst the sea of rubble
But the image did not look right…
The man was missing his right leg and had white cloth covering his eyes
Perplexed I decided to read the booklet—initially I thought it was weird that a puzzle contained an instruction booklet…

I turned to the first page:
It looks like you are finished with the puzzle. The man’s name is Mahmoud, a Palestinian man of 21 years of age. On the ninth day of the 2008/2009 Gazan invasion by the Israelis, he was dining with his friends in his neighbor’s house. Suddenly an Israeli bomb left him without eyesight and a leg. To the shock of many, even with his crippling injuries, his fiancé, Rana of 26 years of age, still proceeded with the marriage preparations. She had this to say, “He lost his sight and his leg, but no bomb can ever take his heart, and he will never lose his sense of love. I can’t understand why some people see what we are doing as hard; no marriage is easy. This is a life-long commitment, for better or worse.” Mahmoud’s father added, “So I thank God every day for sending Rana. She not only made my son happy, but she made all of us smile when we thought we would never smile again.” Their wedding marks what most of us fail to see, flourishing love despite severe conditions. Enduring love is a state of mind rather than simply a state of being or owning.

I sat there with a smile and then stood up with watery eyes, the same stricken eyes that could seemingly eliminate any oppressive force with a glance. I then decided to take action.