Saturday, March 29, 2014

April AToZ Challenge Day 1- A is For Abandoned

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

I was born on the streets, abandoned even before I could open my eyes properly. My father did not care about me and my mother left me as soon as I was born. It was raining cats and dogs and nature’s furor was enough to terrify even the bravest of them all. How then I survived through the turbulent night is a question that I could never answer. But survive I did, perhaps I was meant to live against the odds.

I learnt to grow up as a mean fighter because living in the streets was not a job for the pansies. But I never fought without a reason. But to show that I could very well defend myself, I needed to be tough. And I was a survivor, yes Sir!

Sometimes I missed my family. When I saw my pals with their parents and siblings playing around in the park I felt a deep ache in my heart. But the next moment I would convince myself that I had no need for anyone else in my life. I was happy being a loner but deep down within my soul I yearned for a person who would love me.

Then that night happened. I still remember that dark, cloudy night when I was feeling unusually happy, with a belly full of food that was thrown out in a garbage bin of a large restaurant. I was passing through a dark alley when I heard voices.

“We have warned you many times not to come into this side of the town. This is our beat. But you never learn, you filth”. I immediately recognized the voice. It was Mean Billy, the scum of the streets, who was known to pick fights at the drop of a hat. Still in the shadows I inched closer to the scene that froze my blood.

Billy along with his group of ruffian friends were bullying little Tom who was ambushed against the wall and had no means of escape. Tom was a good guy but because of his puny size, he was often the victim of Billy’s torment. I did not know what made me do it, but I rushed at Billy and pushed him to the ground. A slow growl rose in his throat as he turned his attention on me. From the corner of my eye I could see Tom slithering away but now Billy and his gang were bearing down on me.

I fought fiercely but I was clearly outnumbered. There were deep wounds on my neck, legs and many on my face. Billy was closing in on his final, brutal attack when there was a deep, loud voice behind me.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness were a pair of hands gently picking me up. When I came to, several hours later, I was safely ensconced and pair of gentle eyes was examining my wounds.

Her name was Lisa and she had adopted me that day from the dark alley, bathed my wounds, and stitched my cuts. She fed and gave me a home. Still I did not trust her; maybe I had lost my faith. Every day she looked at me with hopeful eyes, believing that today would be the day I would accept her but every day I failed her. But she never lost patience.

In the evenings we would run beside each other in the park and during the winter we would sit across the fireplace, she in her chair reading her book and I, near her legs just cozying in the warmth.

Source-istockphotos.com

And then one day as we sat like that, she placed her hand on my head lovingly and in response I nuzzled at it and placed my head on her lap. And suddenly we knew that we had crossed the line. She hugged me reassuringly and I knew that I had found that one person who would love me unconditionally. I had come home.

36 comments:

  1. Oh... oh .. oh... abandoned can be the worst feel ever!! nice post to start the challenge.

    http://iamstri.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/achilles-heel-day1-atoz-challenge-2014/

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  2. I like how the story gets a happy ending and the abandoned one finds a home. A well-told story indeed!

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  3. Beautiful... Only in the end I got to know the narrator!! Looking forward to connect with you through A to Z!

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  4. Ohh Abandoned is not a nice feeling and you have brought it out so well Prasanna...Liked the positive ending when he finds the one person who will love him unconditionally! And I couldn't guess who the narrator was until the very end...Gr8 job :)

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    1. Thank you Naba :) It's really difficult to pen fiction on the 26 letters, so hats off to you ;)

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  5. Oh beautiful this was. Hope nobody is ever abandoned :(
    Ishithaa
    #AtoZChallenge

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  6. Awww this was so beautiful! Lovely post Prasanna :)

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  7. Well written and suspense of the narrator nicely carried through. Touching and sweet, looking fwd to the rest of your posts Prasanna :)

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  8. awww man!!! This was amazingly beautiful. And what a topic you chose to start the challenge!

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    1. Thank you Red :) How come you did not participate in the challenge?

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  9. Touching story. Being abandoned and uncared for is the worst thing that can happen to anybody.

    Just one honest feedback: I guessed by the 2nd paragraph that the narrator is a canine. (Of course, that did not make the story less touching.)

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    1. Thank you :) Yes I guess the second paragraph does give away the narrator...

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  10. err i have a feeling have read this story before! Beautiful one

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    1. Thanks Mina :) Few days back I read a story on FB and I tried putting myself in the canine's place and voila, this what I imagined. You can read the story here- http://www.dogheirs.com/larne/posts/4863-man-saves-severely-wounded-dog-dog-s-amazing-recovery-will-touch-your-heart-photos

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  11. Ahh , heartbreaking, but still : yey for a happy ending. I love how you tell the story- captivating all way through. And I was so sure I was reading about a child... and then - "stitch me" Ok .- the dog:-) Great start of the challenge! Looking forward to the rest:-)

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    1. Thank you Eli :) It was great reading your post about Acropolis too :)

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  12. Happy for him, at last !! I wish no one feels abandoned... lovely write, Prasanna :)

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  13. Awe..... such a beautiful one...

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  14. I love happy endings *wipes a tear* beautiful :)

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  15. What a beautiful Story Prasanna.. Respect...

    Amritt

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  16. lovely outcome to a very hard life story ...very well written I'll be back!

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  17. feelings well portrayed! loved it!

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  18. nicely written and expressed.

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  19. Oh that was a beautiful theme and a lovely story to substantiate it... Didn't know you were participating in the challenge as well, we do my best to stop by everyday :)

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  20. Beautifully expressed. Felt like going through a lovely novel. All the best!!

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  21. Narration was magnificent...attention captivating story....Best wishes

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