keeping them on his head, Climbing the dangerously ascending half constructed stairs,
Dizzy in the head, hungry in the stomach,
cold in the body , sad in the heart,
still pulling out every bit of strength from the core of his existence
to just go on and on..
For if he stops, he knows not what awaits him next,
he knows not where to hide, he knows not where to go and cry,
he knows not whether he ll be alive..
What must be the thoughts crossing his mind..
Why him ? Why was he chosen to suffer like this,
while others go to school and have an education, have parents to hug,
siblings to share with, a home to come back to , a cosy bed to sleep and so much love..
What must be his crime..? He thinks probably he is some other species who looks like human,
but not exactly a human.. for if he was human , Wouldn't have other humans shown compassion,
for if he was human , no one would have dared to punch him in his stomach for asking for a tiny morsel of food,
for if he was human , he would not have been forced to search for food from a garbage bin along side a few dogs..
The dog was dearer to him than any human , as he could connect with him ,
feel the pain of hunger when he howls, could hug him without being kicked for being a dirty creature..
One day when he had put his head between his knees and had gone into a light state of trance(neither sleep nor awake) after sobbing for a while,
he felt a gentle touch of hands stroking his head..
So wonderful it felt that , a flurry of thoughts ran through his mind..
"Is it how it feels the touch of a parent.. or wait is he god himself??"
For nothing had felt like this in his entire tiny life of 9 years...
The person standing before him wearing a gentle smile on his face, held his hand tightly
took him to a place called "home" and hugged him..
The boy shivered in utter disbelief..
"How can someone behave with him in this way",
expecting a punch anytime coz that's what many well behaved and seemingly gentle people have done to him in the past..
His angel gave him some food to eat , and some clothes to wear,
and told him "You are going to school soon.."
Not understanding what is going around him , or what a school is..
he just nodded his head ......
A few years down the lane , after failing in a single class for quite a number of times..
this boy finally managed to have a grip on his academics and became a clerk at a reputed bank with the help of his angel's dedication and hard work....
Thus, rising above the horizon like a powerful "Phoenix" from the ashes....
leaving behind every bad memory of past...
Note: Not every child is as lucky to have an angel or godfather/godmother like this kid had. I know not many of us are capable of supporting a child, as illustrated
in this piece of writing of mine. But friends , do have the heart to call 1098(children helpline in India) whenever you come across child labor . Let's try to do our bit. Thanks.
