Specially challenged (TheTelegraphicTales)

Today while working in the ER I encountered a young patient​, a boy 17yrs of age, who could not hear or speak since birth. He was accompanied by his mother who somehow managed to tell us that he has stomach ache. He was so restless that I could myself understand this much from his body language and my clinical knowledge. I started giving him some injections which would relieve his symptoms but they weren't of much help. I called up a friend who knew sign language so as to communicate with him but his mother informed that he is not educated. And there I felt the floor slipping away from under my foot, what did I just hear? A deaf & dumb boy, how will he express himself? If his two senses aren't working he still has other senses intact. He can see, he can write but his parents never realised that how important it is to express oneself. Shocked and surprised at the same time, on knowing the family history, the couple had 4 kids of which one was specially challenged. While there are many NGOs, schools and other health & education ​systems established for providing the necessary information and teaching, at a minimal cost, very much affordable and sometimes free as well yet people don't use them. The parents were spending money in lakhs for the education of their three kids but not a single penny for this child only because they thought what will he do with education. You be rich or poor but if you don't have the ability of expressing you cannot help your ownself. We talk about the big changes we want, well this is where we need to start. All the knowledge I gained in these years was useless today in front of him for even if I had known the sign language he wouldn't understand me at all. We tried counseling his parents but they didn't pay much heed to our words & took away our mysterious patient, discharging on risk bond. I could only silently pray for him because that's what we do all the time after we are done with the medicinal treatment, pray to God to handle the rest!

~Auldrin© 

2️⃣ LittleLoveLullaby

His voice into my ears

He had no clue

Times I fell in love 

Listening to his songs too.

So I read to him

Every word I had written

Staring into his eyes

Falling in love 'again'

Like a baby he adorably listened!

As strangers we met, as strangers we left!

I woke up early that day though I actually never slept through the night. But it was going to be a hectic one, I had a train to catch in the noon and it was raining outside, heavily, umbrella was of no use so I was wondering to self, I would be spared if only the cab could pick me up from my hostel room not even the gate!

After going through the jamming streets of Kolkata (the city I love actually) I reached the station, with drenched clothes, exhaustively heavy luggage and then finally to my train. There, my angry face came out, furious at my brother for the seats he had booked, in 3AC coach that too side upper! The seat I hated the most (then), actually I already knew, but we are humans bound to overreact at times. I brought my laptop fully charged, carried an extra cell phone in case my lumia battery dies, lets just say I was fully prepared, yet I was sure it was some kind of revenge from him, on top of it came my co-passenger allotted the lower birth. A young man(Mr. X for later references), in his early 30's with a ring in his hand so definitely married, I sighed because I was wondering to lure him into exchanging the seats. I prefer lower seats, it's not that I can't climb up but I stumble so don't feel like becoming a clown for people to laugh at. (Hide that grin I know you want to laugh too).

I am a talker though not with strangers but Mr. X suddenly started talking and to my surprise that conversation we had led to some deep meaningful talks. Our neighbours joined us as well. A politician travelling along giving his high value lectures was interrupted too by Mr. X with a question..Do you like black colour? Everyone replied with a YES! I myself added black is a dominating colour. To which his next question came..Do you like black complexion? Well..to be honest even I took a pause before answering, leave the rest. I was not about the colour but simply how do people really think.
Next he picked up a topic about NaMo (Ab ki baar, Modi sarkaar) how he his doing brilliant work and would flourish one day. Just as I was about to put on my earphones to leave the discussion he stopped me, I told him I am not a politics fan. To which he scolded me, YES, literally scolded, he said most of the people are living the definition of 'I Me Myself' no one wants to talk about 'Our We Us', if the youth won't take interest in such matters how does one expect India to become a developed nation, after all it's for the betterment of "Our" country. He mentioned a statement Modi Ji quoted..If you ask someone about that story of a glass half-full/half-empty, you can differentiate between an optimist & a pessimist, but he added a point to it, that the glass is completely full..half with water and half with moisture or air. We all need to have such positive approach in our lives, good hopes and faith!

We had a lot of talks that day if I start thinking deep I won't stop typing. Personally, I myself realised something that day..its easy to blame others but one doesn’t think to improve self or take up a stand for something he needs a change for, and if you think hard 'It's True'...
Slowly the train came to a halt, that was it, We both met as strangers, no details exchanged but only words. Words which meant a lot and on completing our 21hr journey (including approx 16hrs of conversations) We again left as strangers...