magic

It hurts deep when your own blood betrays you, Reva never realized that the only place she had in the live of her siblings was of a free of cost baby sitter and errand doer.

She was a very soft girl, who was moulded by her siblings according to their wishes, she was always there to help them with a smile on her lips, her siblings felt it better to keep her as a helping hand, hence snipped off all her attempts to stand on her feet in the bud.

As a result, when her mother, the last of her parents passed away she was still single, penniless. Soon her brothers and their families started to harass her to no end and her living in the same household became impossible. Because they were planning to usurp the properties left in her name. They poisoned the minds of the neighbours and relatives taking advantage of her introvert nature. Within a couple of years they made it clear that they wont let her stay in the house, physical and verbal abuse became daily story.

One day she was walking down the street when she saw a small advertisement, educated social worker needed for ashray, a small orphanage, food, shelter and small honorary amount will be provided. She thought about giving it a try and went there.

She located the address, it was a small two storied house, she went to the door, and saw inside, she saw some small autistic children inside, her heart ached with deep pain, most of them were on their fours, crawling painfully, without much control on their limb.

A woman in white saree opened the collapsible gate and asked her in, she had a very serene personality. She asked her to sit down and when to inform the mother superior. Reva sat down, within five minutes four or five children flocked around her with big grin on their faces, their faces lacked proper symmetry but their inner purity made their faces brim with joy.

Reva was very fond of children, her heart went out to these helpless children, discarded by their own parents, too weak to take care of themselves.

A few minutes later she was called in, she met the mother, her name was originally Karuna but she was called mother by every one. She was an elderly lady, past sixty. Here entire personality was serene and peaceful. One look at her face and the heart of the person filled up with deep peace and happiness.

Karuna asked her to take a seat, she sat down, Karuna gently asked her about her qualifications and back ground. After talking with her she asked Reva from when she can shift and join. Reva asked her she will like to start working immediately but asked three or four months before shifting, because she wanted to look into her heart before leaving her home, because she knew once she will be out of that door, her siblings will ensure that the doors are sealed for her.

She started to come to ashray in the morning and left the place in night, within one week she started to love those children with all her heart, her duty was to do petty office jobs and help those children in home works who were able to attend school, with sadness she noticed, ninety per cent of them were not even capable of feeding themselves, forget about other things.

She used to observe with great happiness and pain that the love of these children knew no impurity, the moment they used to see her walk in their small faces used to light up, most of them could not talk a sentence but they used to shout didi, when the time of parting used to come she never felt like leaving them and going back to home.

Even though these children were some times moody, some times violent but their unselfish affection compensated for this all. Hence a month later Reva told Karuna that she wont go back to home any more.

When she left home her siblings smirked at her and taunted her that she will be back within a week, or latest a month but she ignored their comments and moved on.

Months passed to years, she never regretted her decision, one day she got the news that some one has left a small child in the area of her home, she went there, and while she was coming back she met her child hood friend Neepa, she invited her to her home for a cup of tea, when Neepa saw the helpless baby in her arms, she asked Reva about her works in the orphanage.

After listening all she asked Reva whether or not she regrets her decision, Reva replied she has given a lot more affection to her siblings and their children, but in the return she had to leave her own home, whereas these children has cured all the wounds caused by them and filled up her life with their unselfish, pure affection.

She told Neepa that these children have a heart that is not tainted with greed, lust or selfishness. They cant be corrupted, they follow the simple rule, if some one loves you love them back thousand times more.

After a little silence Reva added that that was all she ever asked for in life. And her family was slowly convincing her that unselfish love does not exists, a dark despair which these children has spared her from.