The Beating Heart of a Mother
The sun shines through the windowpane brightly as it hit the glass differently, showing arrays of colours over the surface. The little girl giggled as she moved from side to side to see the perspective of the light keep changing, causing the colours to dance. It made her laugh even more as she was intrigued by her new game.
The mother, who was in the makeshift kitchen, was watching her innocent child enjoy herself. Seeing her little one so happy made her smile, and she continued to cut the vegetables for their small, simple lunch.
The little girl continued to play for a while until she decided she wanted to go out and play. The sun was up high, and it was bright outside. So, it meant it would be safe, right? So, the little girl thought it would be no problem if she played outside with the little critters. There were white bunnies, squirrels and smaller birds who came to her, cutely begging for food. The girl, in turn, liked to feed them little scraps of fruit and vegetable peels. After all, that was all they could afford. They were living in the middle of the forest, away from civilization.
The girl ran to her mother, tugging on her roughly made, long skirt. “Mommy! Mommy! Can I go play outside?” She asked as she looked up to her maternal figure, with those big, innocent blue eyes begging for approval. The mother lightly laughed. She understood what was going on in her little one’s mind and nodded. “Go and play. Just don’t stray too far.” She then bent down and kissed her little girl’s head.
The kid giggled and ran away. “Thank you, Mommy!” The mother smiled and went back to work. However, even though she gave permission, this made her put her mind on guard. She always had to be ready.
It had barely been three weeks since she had taken her child and ran away from an abusive home into the safety of the forest. Currently, to the outside world, they were pronounced to be in heaven cause the forest had been proven to be haunted. But only she knew the truth. The forest provided a decent cover and became the haven that her small family sought for safety, happiness, and freedom. Now that it was achieved, she did not want to return to her past but look forward to their simple, sweet future.
The girl ran out and called out to her little critter friends, who came bounding towards her the moment they heard her voice. She was calling out, which meant that she had food in her hands. For some reason, the food tasted really good when it came from the little girl’s hands. This was why they flocked towards her. Good food, head pats and cuddles. Such a good life.
The girl smiled and began to feed them the peels and seeds of the fruits and vegetables they had left and weren’t going to use. This was a better solution than just throwing it. The animals happily ate; some fed from her hand directly, the others surrounded her and fed from what fell from her tiny hands. After this small session, it was playtime. That meant running around in the luscious green grass, under the bright blue sky and jumping around until the little lady was tired and rested in the grass where the smaller animals like rabbits and squirrels would surround her and cuddle her to sleep. As expected, this was what happened. It was a daily routine, something her mother liked to watch. It was a serene scene.
The mother smiled softly as she wiped her rough hands on a dirty rag and leaned on the windowpane to see the antics of her daughter, the bubbly laughter that seemed to attract everything around her. She would do anything to protect the happiness of her young one. That is the beautiful beating heart of a true mother.
Contributor: Sanaya Parkar
About our Writing Program Student
Why fit in when we were born to stand out and do greater things? A passionate writer for whose words come naturally as ants to sweet jaggery along with design running in the veins. An avid reader, researcher as well as a learner whose dream is to change the world with each step.
