September 26, 2012

This is the story of innocence. Innocence is what children have in plenty and Shreya was one of them. She was eight years old.
 
Her oil soaked hair was tied in two plaits and glistened under the daylight. Her inquisitive big round eyes were always filled with questions. Questions that eight year olds wouldnt think about.

She was dusky complexioned, owing to her south indian ancestry. She was born to Malyalee parents in the suburbs of Mumbai. Shreya being the only daughter, she was loved and over-protected by her parents.

Shreya's father Mr. Rajesh Paul was a doting parent. He was conservative and a man of principles. He worked as a clerk at one small private company operating downtown in Mumbai. Life in a middle-class family was full of challenges as experienced by Mrs. Stella Paul, Shreya's mother. She was a teacher before, but quit owing to family responsibilities. But she did tutor a few kids at her home to substitute her teaching job.

Life was always fun and frolic for Shreya as it is for most kids. She was good at learning and would always rank among the top five students in her class. Having a mother as a tutor really helped.

It was the month of November and winter was slowly creeping in. So was Shreya's birthday. Like every other young girl, she was all excited about her upcoming birthday. Gifts and surprises entice all children and it did the same to Shreya.

It was a Sunday and her birthday was five days later. Shreya and her family always attended the Sunday mass at the church in the suburbs.

After mass her mother would go to the market to buy some meat and vegetables. Her father would take Shreya home. This Sunday, they did the same, but Shreya's father stopped on the way at a departmental store. There was a shoe shop next door with some colorful shoes on display. Shreyas' sight was stuck to a pair of pink ballet shoes that had cute ribbons on it. It looked like it had been made specially for her and she fell in love with it.

Mr. Paul saw what Shreya was looking at and ushered her to go forward towards their home. He knew those shoes were expensive and was definitely not what he had planned to gift Shreya. He knew kids would always be stuck to something they can identify themselves with, but the feeling would always be temporary. And according to him, middle-class parents were not supposed to take their kid's fancy too seriously.

Once they reached home Shreya was glued to her favourite cartoon. Mr. Paul went to the kitchen to have a word with Mrs. Paul. "Her eyes were stuck to those pink shoes she saw today" said Mr. Paul and he continued "It costs Rs. 550. She will wear it for a few months and her feet will grow again!" he exclaimed dissapointedly.

"She did tell me about those shoes and I told her to focus on her homework" replied Mrs. Paul.

Mr. Paul though a very calculative man, didn't want to compromise on his child's happiness. He decided to buy those shoes for her from his monthly savings. A few days passed and it was Shreya's birthday. Her grandmother and relatives from other cities called to wish her and gave their blessings. Shreya was all happy and cheerful and knew her parents would also have something worthy to give her.

Mr. & Mrs. Paul wished her and handed over the shoe box to her. An excited Shreya jumped with joy and immediately opened the box. And there lying in the shoe box was a pair of those pink shoes, Shreya was dreaming about. She wore the shoes and it fitted her perfectly. She was more pleased and smiled at her parents.

The next day she came home hurriedly to once again look at her prized possession. She wore it once again and jumped all around happily. Her father usually came home by 5.30 pm, but it was already 6 pm and he wasnt home.

An hour passed by and there was still no sign of Mr. Paul. "Where has your father gone? I am already worried", asked a tensed Mrs. Paul. Her husband would always be home on time and at times was late by 30 mins..But today he was already two hours late.

The phone rang at that moment and Mrs. Paul ran towards the phone to answer it. Her face lost color and tears started pouring down her eyes. The news was indeed sad. Mr. Paul had met with an accident and was in an emergency ward of a hospital. Shreya looked at her mother stunned as to why she was crying. She went and hugged her mother. "Dada is unwell, we will have to go and see him now", said Mrs. Paul.

Shreya's eyes turned moist at that moment and she started crying too. Mrs. Paul cuddled Shreya and took her out with her. They reached the hospital and waited for the doctor to let them in. The doctor didnt let them go in and instead asked them to peek through the glass window to have a look.

Mrs. Paul saw her husband resting with his forehead and arms bandaged. He was on a ventilator and was in deep sleep. "How serious is it doctor?" asked Mrs. Paul. "Well I cant say anything now, but the accident was grave," he replied and walked past her.

Mrs. Paul sunk into a chair and turned pale. Tears were continuously pouring down her swollen eyes. Shreya was also weeping on her mothers lap.

Mrs. Paul gathered all her strength and decided to go home and behave normally so that Shreya would not get affected with her dad's absense. Well she was her dad's pet and she would surely miss his presence around her.

They slept on the couch that night and when Mrs. Paul woke up the next morning she was shocked. What she saw at that moment brought down her tears once again.

Shreya was standing in front of a framed picture of Jesus, and she was holding her pink shoes in her hands. "Dear Jesus please save my dada and bring him home safely. I want to exchange these shoes for his life. Please Jesus please listen to me," she said crying. Mrs. Paul hugged her from behind and they both wept together and then prayed for the life of Mr. Paul.

After a couple of days, Mr. Paul was free from the ventilator and doctors were positive about his complete recovery. Though his hand and leg was in plaster, he gave a broad smile on seeing his little daughter and his wife. Well there was nobody smiling more than Shreya. She remembered her prayer and realised that her deal was accepted and her dada would be back home with her soon.

Mr. Rajesh Paul's life was definitely more valuable than the pink shoes.