It was a pleasant day. And the train wasn’t overcrowded. I was returning to hostel from my home. A three hour journey it was. But a talk , an experience that would be etched forever ; in her eyes , in my memory.
A Mother was sitting with her kid exactly opposite to me. Both of us facing the window. A window seat is a blessing, isn’t it? Being the introvert I am , I usually spend those three hours of journey looking out of the window, the same scenes ; listening to Music , the same songs. But this time , I couldn’t stop but let myself see the mother-daughter duo right in front of my eyes. Babies are adorable , aren’t they? She seemed to be of around three to four years of age , or that’s what I guessed. And her mom looked quite young.
Sometimes, don’t we all decide the age of a stranger as soon as we look at them? Okay, coming back to them now. After a few minutes of being in the ‘noticing-let them not know I am noticing’ phase , I figured out that the girl had certain problems in communicating with her mother. Her actions and responses were either supranormal or subnormal , but not normal , but I wouldn’t want to say abnormal either .Sigh!
At a moment , the kid started staring at me . I tried to smile and ended up feeling awkward. I asked her name. And her mother replied. I smiled. Then we just talked a bit of usual stuffs. The mother asked me why I was travelling . I answered. I asked the same. She sighed and then replied that she was going for the kid’s treatment course. Being a medico, it was my sudden instinct to ask about the condition. I could notice the inhibition in her face. But then she answered. Maybe because she knew that I was a medicine student , or maybe because the girl’s condition was visible , and obvious. She said her girl suffers from a slight mental disorder , and hence the aphasia and also certain limbs abnormalities. I said I was sorry.
To lighten up the moment, I said, “Your daughter looks exactly like you, beautiful.” I don’t know why or how I said that. I’ve never spoken as such to any stranger. But I was happy that I said that. The mother smiled , a happy one , a proud one this time. And I caught a glimpse of her cheeks turning pink. And the girl playing with her face.
Then I put forward a question, or a continuation maybe. My instinct , you can say. I asked if there were any complications during pregnancy. She gave a small laugh and said , “I don’t know. I didn’t give birth to her.” I was shocked for a moment. She sensed my confusion and answered my unasked question , that they adopted her when she was three and it’s two years since then. Mind-blown. The amount of love and care to the adopted girl – No Bounds. They made her their own. No matter the condition the baby was in. They gave her a life worth living for. They gave themselves a life . Still, a relation so pure.
We didn’t speak anything much significant later on. We were just enjoying our piece of mind, some peace of mind. I was smiling at the girl while saluting the mother in my head. A little before the train stopped for us all to get down, the kid smiled at me and gave me a wink, and wow! that made my day. Or that small journey, made my days.
This beautiful incident inspired me to write this.
We were alone
You? From another zone.
Your parents?Unknown.
And yes, I made you my own.
Thank you.
–END–
