The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge was first held in 2010. The challenge is that we have to post every day of April, except on the four Sundays. April 1st is a theme with letter A, 2nd with letter B and so on till April 30th which will be Z themed. This year, I’m planning to do short pieces of fiction (not a series), or a poem based on a word with that letter.
Varna
They found her one spring morning on the verandah… a cute little bundle of joy, silently sleeping in a pram, her fingers curled into a tight ball. She was dressed in a blue frock, matching booties and pointed hat. A note was inside.
“She wasn’t safe with us. We know she’ll be safe with you. Take care of her.”
They were delighted. The doctors had told them to adopt, that they couldn’t have a child of their own. So the little girl was almost like a godsend. There were legalities to take care of, but they had a way around that. They clung to the girl, and with a smile, named her Varna.
She grew up with them. By the time they knew she was legally their adopted daughter, they had moved to a different part of the city. She called them mummy and papa, and ran around the verandah, giggling happily. No one who saw them said otherwise… they were a family.
It was a rainy day when they saw a moving van outside their gate and the men moving the furniture into the opposite house. They went to welcome their new neighbors, Varna in her mother’s arms.
Their neighbors smiled seeing them at the gate. A handsome baby boy waved at them from his father’s arms. They told they’d go over once the moving was done. Their neighbors welcomed them. When the moving van left, both families were standing in their verandahs.
For one, Varna was the girl who had given them new life.
For the other, Varna was their baby girl who had lived.
Like last year, I’m taking the challenge along with my friend Bhavya. We’re writing on the same themes each day, and giving each other the themes on alternate days. Day 22, the word chosen by us was ~Verandah~.
(© 25th April 2015)
Vinay Leo R.
Poetry & writing are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.
Interesting story!!! Not really sure why was Varna cast away.. Why not safe?? But all’s well that ends well. Varna lived on and her foster parents are happy as well to have her!!!
(Shrikant recently posted… Wall)
I leave that to your imagination, Shrikant. Sometimes, a girl child is not welcome in a family, which is sad.
But yes, glad that I could help Varna find her happy ending 🙂
(Vinay Leo R. recently posted… Varna)
Good that they decided to give up the baby for adoption rather than resort to the unthinkable….
(Bhavya recently posted… Thumbi’s Pennukaanal)
Very true 🙂 Positive way to look at it, Ishi 😀
(Vinay Leo R. recently posted… Varna)
Why would any parents willingly give away their daughter? If they do so, can they really be called parents? Such a haunting story, Leo. Beautifully narrated as always!
(Aathira recently posted… V – Voyage)
Well, sometimes, a girl child is not welcome in a family, for whatever reasons. And there are family members (other than the parents) who resort to the unthinkable for that girl child. Maybe they’re not fit to be called parents, but at least, they were human enough to give the child away than to let the unthinkable happen, Aathira 🙂 Glad you liked the story and narration.
(Vinay Leo R. recently posted… Varna)
So, they left Varna because she was a baby girl? 🙁
And the co-incidence brought them together, unknowingly! I am glad Varna got parents who really did love her.
(Sims recently posted… Save the Mother Earth)
Yeah. They gave her up because she was a girl. But remember the note? They did so because she wasn’t safe with them, Sims. So in a way, they did love that little girl too. Maybe not as much as her new foster parents, but enough to not let her come to harm.
(Vinay Leo R. recently posted… Varna)
Oh! They gave her up because she was a girl? That’s too sad, but, at least they gave her the chance to live, I know of so many people who kill their unborn girls just because they’re… well, girls! 🙁
(Kaddu recently posted… A to Z of Blogging: V – Value #atozchallenge @AprilA2Z)
Yes. They didn’t give her up willingly. They did, as the note said, to let her be safe, for giving her that chance to live.
I know, and have read of many such cases too, Kaddu 🙁 Sad, that.
(Vinay Leo R. recently posted… Varna)
Don’t understand why not safe, but glad it worked out well for Varna.
(Suzy recently posted… Love is in the Air – Veneration)
Could be any number of reasons, Suzy. A girl child is just not safe in certain households, even now.
Glad it worked out for Varna too 🙂
well-written story! High possibility in today’s households
My A-Z posts here: http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in/
Thanks, Sundari.
Atleast God ensured that she ended up in a happy home na. Not everyone gets that lucky..
Nice story Leo 🙂
Yes. Not everyone gets that lucky, Pooja. 🙁 Glad that she was.
Thank God, they decided to adopt her. 🙂
Yep 🙂 Thank God, SSJ.
At least they had the sense to find a nice family for her. There are people who just leave the baby in the dustbin.
I can only pray that Karma is a real thing.
Yes. There are people who do that, I know. I’ve read about it too, Peevee. It’s sad. I too hope it is real.
Is it not unfortunate that a girl child is unwanted by her own parents. Good that Varna was lucky to find a good home.Very nicely narrated story.
It is sad that she is not wanted by her own parents, but a safe Varna elsewhere is better than one in danger with them perhaps? Glad you liked the tale, Usha ji 🙂
A delightful tale as always!
(keiths ramblings recently posted… If I was a worm….)
Thanks, Keith 🙂 I will come by and give you a comment spree soon 😛 Been a bit busy.
Well, I believe that we get the love we deserve. So Varna got a loving family.
(Jaibala Rao recently posted… Don’t Judge Me)
Good belief, Jb 🙂 I like that one.