'Scars' brighter than 'Stars'⭐
That foggy-rainy night,
When nothing seemed right,
Deserted streets, filled with woe and despair,
The story of her 'scar' ,did ,the girl's heart share.
Walking down the lane,
I heard, snobs deeper than thunder,
And a view that speeded the red-water flow in my veins,
Under the tree sat,a young girl with a scar in her face,crying ,holding a bag in one hand and a younger kid in another.
She pulled down the banana leaf,
To cover her brother's head,
Sang for him, though she herself was in grief,
Then, he slept, smiling in her lap, just like he was laying on a bed.
Hours passed one after the other,
She neither moved,nor even ,once,did her eyes blink ,
Only thing she did was , kept on looking, at her brother,without caring about her hungry stomach and thirsty throat , which made my heart shrink.
Lightning stroke,nor once nor twice,
But each time she gathered up courage,
The next moment,she was drenched in pain,not of her sacrifice,
But for the fear of responsibilities, that enveloped her, at such tender age.
All this while , I, kept watching her,
Sometimes,she sat,sometimes she walked by,
Sometimes , she counted the few stars, And the tiny water drops that jumped, from the night sky,
Her hands trembling with pain,
With the weight of the child,
She took out some berries and a paper from her bag, twisted & folded ,made a paper- boat & left it in the rain,
Her brother woke up and cried but she falsely smiled.
Next, she smashed the berries ,fed him with it,
He stopped crying, glancing at her and smiled back,
The boat then, drifted towards me, I picked it,
And went closer to her to have a talk.
First she was a bit, insecure and afraid but after ,I, assured her, she seemed a bit comfortable.
I started,
"Why are you here, alone?"
"Because we don't have a home."
"Where are your parents?"
"They are no more. "
I felt a sudden pain in my heart.
& then, took the little one in my arms.
"Is this your brother? "
"Yes, he is the only one, left with me now."
"Are you hungry?"
"No, he is. Can you please give me some food?"
"You don't have to worry. Just come with me. "
"But.. I don't even know you.. So how can I come? "
"Trust me , I am also a daughter", I said.
She hesitating agreed after some time.
I called my driver. He arrived with the car.
l gave some fruits, talked and consoled her.
But all this while, I , did nothing but stare,
And then, couldn't stop myself asking about "the scar"in her forehead which was quite rare.
At first she kept mum ,but ,after my flood of questions, she began,
"Everything began last week,
In such a weather , rainy and bleak,
My father used to transport wood from the forest at night,
So that the houses of this city, would be warm and bright,
One day a tall fat man,entered our house , chasing my father,
Plundered our house, covering her mouth, stabbed my mother,
I was playing & my brother fast asleep, in the hall,
I came out, and saw him thumping my father's head on the wall,
Blood pumped out from his head,
It was then that I realised, both my parents were dead.
There after ,he searched and took away, all the money and peace,
I prayed and prayed just for the deadly hours to cease.
Next, I, grabbed my brother and rushed,
To the neighbour's yard where, cool breeze gushed.
I knocked the door and asked for help,
Every other sound was muted apart from my own yelp.
Louder than ever,she,banged the door,
My ray of hope ,turned dark as before.
One after the other , I begged help from many humans,
Disappointment,I ,realised
"Service to mankind is service to God" is after all just a rumour.
By then, my clothes were dirty and legs were muddy,
My bag was torn as well as bloody,
I brought the bag as a proof to show it to the policemen,
But couldn't find any help again.
As, I,continued walking here and there,
Searching for hospitals and police stations near,
In a street, I noticed, three kids, who looked,older than me,
Holding their school bags ,chatting, outside a car, beneath a tree.
I ,even approached them, asking for help, but in vain,
Instead,they picked up and threw stones at me then.
It was just about to hit my brother's head,when,I turned,
And that's how, today, this "fore-head Scar",I earned."
Saying this, she turned silent again.
I could feel the stillness in my heart looking at her agony ,
Her love so 'selfless' her courage completely 'uncanny' ,
Unlike her,nothing much has change for me apart from the fact, that I learned,
That ,
"SCARS are sometimes,even, more beautiful than BEAUTY earned".
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