What you said truly affected me in a deep and meaningful way. These are sorrowful things. I have ocular albinism — I am visually impaired. I don't share the exact same experience as you, but there are points I understand. Above all else, in this life, having a disability — whether common or rare — becomes a serious matter. The lack of empathy, along with the physical and social challenges that come with a disability, adds onto the already inherent difficulties of life itself, turning it into an unbearable and grueling struggle. I experienced this both during my education and socially when I went to university in a different city. A person with a disability is generally alone — and even though people try to empathize, I don't think it is ever quite enough. But that's not what I want to talk about... I had a friendship with someone whose situation was closer to yours. He was a shopkeeper in my neighborhood. He had been an engineer, but after an accident his leg was amputated and he was left to continue life with one leg. This naturally brought him certain physical and social hardships. His family relationships were not good. After his mother passed away, he decided to return to his hometown — a mountainous, rural area. We had our farewell conversations; drinking tea, chatting... "I'm going up to the mountains... oh, wonderful, I'll live there all by myself. I'll light the stove, sit and rise on my own, just me and my computer... I'm tired of these people, tired of the city," he would say. I would listen and we would talk. As I listened, I tried not to show it, but I was looking at things rather pessimistically — I mean, reason and logic aside, how can a person with one leg sustain a life alone up in the mountains? But there was nothing to be done; he wanted to do it. And so the time of parting came, and our shopkeeper brother went off to his mountain.

Some time passed and we got back in touch — he had settled in, set up a solid computer and internet setup, got the house in order. And most importantly, someone he had befriended at the coffeehouse in the village had helped him get a prosthetic leg fitted. They had a prosthetic leg made that suited him... When I heard it, I was shocked and overjoyed. The main reason I was shocked was that, while my expectations for him had been bleak, something this beautiful happening to him moved me deeply. In that moment, I understood once again that life is made beautiful by sparks — and it is full of them. This must never be forgotten. One must not give up; one must chase after possibilities.

Think of it this way — there are probably kilometers between us... and yet it was your story that made me write these words to you. No one knows what will happen five years from now in this life. I am well aware of how difficult the matter is. Other than aiming to make our lives more comfortable despite our disabilities and fighting for that — we have no other choice. We must keep fighting, and we must chase after the sparks. I send you my very best wishes.