ഇനി എത്ര ദൂരം

 

 

Can I Ask You Something?

 

Amma...

When I held your finger,

did you know I trusted you with my whole world?

I couldn't speak in long sentences.

I only knew how to cry, how to smile, and how to reach for you.

I only knew your face, your smell, and your touch

When I cried,

I wasn't trying to trouble you.

I just wanted you.

Just wanted you to hold me.

to be loved, to feel safe.

I was hungry.

I was scared. I was looking for you.

 

Why did you let them hurt me again and again?

Didn't my tears break your heart?

Didn't my cries reach your soul?

Amma...

 

They say children forget pain.

Maybe...

I thought every child

grew up believing

that home

was the safest place

in the world.

The walls heard everything.

The silence kept every secret.

And when the world finally heard my story,

I was no longer here to tell it myself.

Please...

A small request to the world ..

The next time you hear a child crying,

don't say, "It's their family matter."

Sometimes, that cry is not for milk.

Not for sleep. Not for a toy.

Sometimes, it's a little heart

calling for help before it's too late.

Don't wait for the headlines.

Don't wait for another photograph covered with flowers.

Listen while that tiny voice

is still calling your name.

Because every child deserves to believe

that home is another word for love.

And every child deserves

to grow up... not become a memory.

 

(For little Arshid)

Jushaini P.

Assistant Professor of English,

Al Shifa College of Arts and Science, Keezhattur, Perinthalmanna.