Monday, January 12, 2009

Entry #56

Living For Our Dream
by Vinay Ravindranath


We were a family, always together. Just the three of us, in the small single bedroom apartment I rented.

I worked in a software company that didn’t pay much, but had managed to save every penny for one thing. She had not spoken even by the age of five, but doctors said that with surgery, an expensive one, we would hear her speak soon. It was our dream, something we prayed for every day all these years. When I got home from work, she would jump into my arms and smile. Yet, she could only write her thoughts on a sheet of paper. I would hug her and go to the verandah and sit there, crying silently, daily.

When she was ten, I got a good job offer, complete with high pay and perks, but I had to go abroad the next day itself. Even though it meant going away from them, I knew it would help realize that dream. I accepted. When I told her, she cried. She wouldn’t leave my shoulder, and I didn’t want to let go either. She held my hand all the way to the airport. Trying not to cry, I extracted her hand and walked away. I turned back to see her silently waving at me. I started to cry. After looking at her for what seemed like an eternity, I stepped on the escalator.

Then I heard the words…

“Daddy, I love you. Don’t leave me.”

We are a family, still together.

39 comments:

Sameera Ansari said...

Beautiful,heartwarming story :)

Loved it!

Anonymous said...

nice...love happy endings!

Lena said...

that was one sweet and touching story :)

peggy said...

wonderful!!! Love conquers all!

wrath999 said...

Powerful emotions packed in such a little amount of words. Great job

BernardL said...

Heart clutching good!

JR's Thumbprints said...

Departure is oh so difficult, but to hear a child say how much they're going to miss you is very precious. Nice job of showing that.

laughingwolf said...

heart grabber, that :)

Sarah Hina said...

This story clings to the heart. Thanks, Vinay, for the lovely, poignant tale. :)

Anonymous said...

thank u sameera! :)

Anonymous said...

even i love happy endings harshad! thank u! :)

Anonymous said...

thanks lena :)

Anonymous said...

yeah peggy :)
love does conquer all! :)

Anonymous said...

wrath999,
thank you :)

Anonymous said...

thank u bernardl :)

Anonymous said...

JR's,
yes, it is! :) thank you for liking it :)

Anonymous said...

thanks laughingwolf! :)

Anonymous said...

welcome and thank you sarah :)

Lauri said...

What a touching story.

RiverSoul said...

Beautiful as ever, leo
:)
Loved it.
:)
Best of luck
:)

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

What else is there, but love...beautiful. Thanx

Anks said...

Awwwwww

Catherine Vibert said...

I am numb from reading all of these entries, but when I reached the ending of your story it cut through all of that numbness and grabbed me hard. Now I'm a puddle. This will be one of my top five choices, thank you for this.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Couldn't agree more with laughingwolf... its truly a heart grabber! And am sorry to make a pun on such an emotional piece but I was drawn in to the story by the line "I worked in a software company that didn’t pay much"... so true man! :-D :-D

ceedy said...

That was really well written and heartwarming....loved it...

Margaret said...

You almost had me in tears..
Heart-warming and emotional. Thank God it had a happy end...

Beautifully written.

Obscure Optimist said...

Beautiful, that was... I agree with all the comments out here.. Indeed touching.
Well written :)

Esther Avila said...

daddy, don't you walk so fast.....
very beautifully written. emotional, sweet, nice job.

Anonymous said...

thank you lauri, for liking my li'l story! :)

Anonymous said...

thanks riversoul...! :)

Anonymous said...

thanks gilbert! :)

Anonymous said...

thanks anks! :)

Anonymous said...

catvibe,
thanks for liking my story so much, and considering it for the top 5...

Anonymous said...

aniket...

haaha! :) i don't work now, so i dont get paid much either! :P

thx for liking it! :)

Anonymous said...

ceedy, thank you! :)

Anonymous said...

margaret, thank u for liking it..! :)

Anonymous said...

yamini,
thank u! :)

Anonymous said...

thanks september! :)

Anonymous said...

Great job with pacing, entertainment value, storytelling, and voice!

Thanks for being a wonderful part of the contest!