The alarm clock gave out a shrill sound.
Shwetha woke up
with a start.
Oh God!. It was already late.
She had to rush through her morning
chores and get little Pooja ready for school. Pooja was a lively 5 year old and
the reason why Shwetha was still alive.
‘Pooja baby,get up dear. Your school van will be here
now’,called out Shwetha.
Pooja woke up unwillingly. She wanted to sleep some
more.But Shwetha would have none of it.She pulled Pooja from bed and made her get ready.
Soon they could hear the school
van’s horn. Pooja waved a quick goodbye and hauled herself into the van.‘Huf..Thank God! Just in time’..thought Shwetha.
Now it was Shwetha's turn to get ready.She was working as a part-time lecturer to support herself and Pooja. She hurried inside the kitchen to finish off the pending chores.
Shwetha was a single parent who had adopted Pooja a couple of years back from an
orphanage.
While still in college,Shwetha's sister had committed suicide due to love failure. It was a big blow to Shwetha's mother,who had raised them single-handedly after her husband's death.Soon she died out of grief.
Her mother’s death,literally made Shwetha an orphan.
No amount of extended family and friends could compensate
for the loss Shwetha was undergoing. She thought if she,a grown up woman,could
feel so lonely without a family,what about young children. She wanted to make a
difference to the life of a girl child who had become an orphan at a much
younger age than her. Some of her relatives and friends had tried to dissuade
her,saying it was not wise for an unmarried woman to go for adoption,but she
chose to ignore them.
She reasoned that,two orphans together could make a
family. And that's how Pooja had landed up with Shwetha,as her foster daughter.
Shwetha had admitted Pooja in a reputed school in the vicinity
and took care of all her needs as much as she could. She wanted Pooja to feel
happy and loved. Pooja reciprocated much of Shwetha's love and affection in her
own sweet,innocent way. Indeed,they did look like a happy,contented
family.Until Now.
Going to school meant
that Pooja was now understanding the big world outside. It did come with its
own challenges.Yesterday Pooja had come back from school with a forlorn face.
'What happened dear?',Shwetha had asked.
'Mummy,where is my Papa?All other kids in my class have one?Where is mine?',Pooja had asked.
Shwetha tried to avoid the question but to no avail.How to explain things to a five-year old?
With the question still lingering in her mind,Shwetha hurried outside to catch the local bus.
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From today,I will take you through the story of Shwetha and Pooja.Stay tuned to know what happened each day.
This is written as part of Day 7 of
Ultimate Blogging Challenge
and
#DailyChatter