Tuesday, June 9, 2009

a lost child

i went to the night market last night. as i moved on from the vegetables stall to the fish corner, i heard a girl, who could not be more than 5 years old, screaming for her mother. the scream got louder and louder. she was so frighten. apparently, she drifted away from her mother.

being a mother myself, i felt tormented by the screams. suddenly, i had the anxiety attack and my chest was so tight when a thought simply crossed my mind. what if it was my daughter...... i could not bear the thought, sickened by it. i silently prayed that my children or any other children for that matter, would never have to go through it even for a minute. i felt a sudden anger towards the girl's parents... why do they bring small children to night market? maybe, they didn't have anyone to look after them. but then, how could they be so careless? what was their priority? i prayed to God, please let her find her parents.

as i was driving back to my office just now, i heard the screams again in my mind. this time, though i felt the same emotions, i reflected upon my own actions when i saw the girl.... what did i do? be like everyone else who looked over their shoulder with pity and scurry on with life? did i make an attempt to help? i could have stopped to ask, help and ensure that she was safe, at least with the police.

i thought, with glassy eyes, of all the children in many parts of the world at this very moment....going through pain in its many forms....fear, abuse, poverty, hurt and the list goes on....

here's me offering a little prayer to those children.... God, please safe them, help them through these moments and don't let the circumstances break their spirit to live a life.

i am grateful to Allah and my parents that i am not one of those children.

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