The Caretaker

It was a landlocked place with few inhabitants and a few work in progress construction going on.The silence was very comforting except for the occasional express trains speeding by.Standing at the doorway  I could see the husband and wife duo  taking sand bags on their heads to the second floor of of the building in progress. Their only child aged two was happily playing in the nearby sand heap and also assisting by shoveling some sand into a sack and lugging how much ever he could lending support to his parents.

The child hummed along .I heard no complaints of not having good toys or  biscuits or Kentucky Fried Chicken or the Cornerhouse Ice Cream.It sounded rather strange.Perhaps not subjected to  enough exposure. As soon as the time neared  for end of a  day's work they quickly freshened to better presentable and left for the day. I felt strangely happy  at how the three of them supplemented each other.

Through the windowsill I became  a daily witness to the caretaker and an young inmate of the nearby bungalow.Perhaps for paucity of funds or perhaps the exorbitant fees for  a maid, the caretaker doubled as a domestic help. These services went unpaid and ignored and not accounted in GDP.

It was a routine, by 10 or 11 each day the young inmate woke up,quickly freshened as if to catch the express train and quickly slung a bag as if  leaving for making better prospects in great haste and returned each evening  in a great rush as if something was misplaced.

It amused  the onlooker because  no value was added anywhere except in  fantasy.This was a daily affair.  Conversations were few and far between. Sometimes just to ask  for the  insipid menu to decide whether it is worthwhile eating. This has been a routine for quite sometime.
The onlooker wondered at what was their role in life .It was just pushing each day to the next, no aim at all in life.

One day a bard came to this landlocked place. All the inhabitants came out to listen.Few did not understand  and were amused as he sang. Through his song he narrated the story of his  family

The HURT

It was  while interacting with the girls and boys  who are ever so grateful to their benefactors for  allowing them to see light that one could understand the sharp contrast  between the haves and the havenots which my friend Sheila was  talking about.
 As always facts  are facts.The  sharing of testimonies  left one high and dry.All of us have read  but when hearing  a live recount left us spell bound dumb with emotion..it continued," What education  could I think at that time when I was living in fear of my life every second. Now that I am  a survivor, it is difficult to get over the trauma, but in this peaceful surroundings devoid of boom boom and shrieking cries of  helplessness as I sit I find the need to rehabilitate myself, educate myself,  I do not know whether my parents and siblings  are alive as  I am among the very few survivors when the boat sunk riddled with bullets.

In Solidarity with you

When death lays its icy hands, I don't know for sure what I would feel,fear, courage or a smile to greet it with open arms?I  will not be able to express that feeling at all as I do not know. Every second is changing.

I am forever in the constant pursuit of thanking people who have touched my life and who have molded me to a person I am today.I leave no stone unturned in this pursuit for death may not be far behind. I hold no malice nor harbor vengeance.My heart skips a beat no more.There is no adrenaline rush also. I am at peace both on the inside 'n outside.

Two women   in the course of a week,has made me think  What is life  after all? One a mother another a daughter.One bereft of  son the other father.Both are disturbed and have their own tales to tell. Stories of joys and unfulfilled chores.I listen patiently to let them pour it out to empty their minds of  their deepest thought for they trust in me. I absorb and carry that trust forward without a second thought.

I know for sure I bring about a peace to those mourning, the Lord above guides me through.I know not what I express, what I say , which deep chord I touch, but I firmly believe He acts through me.In doing so I develop a new bond of goodness and peace and continue in my endeavor of being a good human being.