Blessing in Disguise

“Dad, Dad, where are you?”

“I’m here in the balcony,” came George’s voice.

Maggi hurried to the balcony. She wanted to give her father good news.

“Dad, guess what? I have won the scholarship. I can now become a doctor and fulfil your dream.”

“That’s really good news. You can achieve great heights now. My blessings and best wishes are always with you, my dear.” Maggi could feel the happiness in each word he said.

Maggi and her father George lived together in a cottage near the seaside. Maggi had never seen her biological parents. George was the only family she had. She was greatly indebted to him because he had saved her life and taken care of her like a real father. He was a source of inspiration for her. He always said that tough circumstances, motivate humans to become confident and successfully deal with all kinds of situations.

Maggi’s life had been entirely different ten years ago. She used to wear dirty clothes and loiter in the streets with a gang of ragpickers. All the children were between the age of seven to ten years. They carried a bag on their shoulders and scrounged the garbage in the bins and on the roadside searching for articles which could be sold, to earn their living. They slept in open fields, footpath or desolate places. All the children pooled their earnings to buy food for the whole group. So, garbage had become a means of survival for them.

Their day started early in the morning because the weather was cool. People throw garbage and waste items in the morning so that the sweepers can take them away. The ragpickers could get many items to fill their bags and sell them later in the day. Their excitement was at its peak when they found a valuable item in the garbage. This would sell at a good price and all of them could enjoy ice cream or a swing ride. These children had nothing to expect from life and were content with what they could afford.

One day they were sitting in the park eating patties when two men came.

“Hello, children. How are you?” said one of them who was tall, dark and bald. His voice was quite rough.

The ragpickers sat quietly, eating their patties and ignoring them.

 The other man who was tall, fair and pleasant looking, talked to them affectionately.

“Hello, children. What are you doing here?”

“Just sitting and enjoying the sun,” said Tinkle.

“That’s good. I see you have bags. What is in your bag?”

“We don’t know you. Why should we tell you?” asked Bunty.

“I just wanted to help you. Both of us work in an orphanage. We take care of homeless children. We give them food to eat, bed to sleep games to play and books to study,” said the fair man.

“Are you very rich? Where do you get the money from?” Maggi asked.

“That’s a very intelligent question. Well, all the adults and children work to earn money. We use that money to fulfil our daily needs,” replied the bald man in his rough voice.

“He is right. We all live like a family. We work together, eat together, play together and enjoy together. What work do you all do to earn your living?” asked the fair man and smiled.

Bunty said, “We search for useful things in the garbage. We collect them in a bag and sell them.”

“Where do you live? Do you have house?” asked the fair man.

“We don’t have a house. We sleep anywhere- in parks, fields, barns, old and desolate houses, wherever we find place to sleep.” This was Happy who loved to explore new places to sleep.

“Why don’t you all come and live with our family. You can work, play, study and enjoy with other children.” The fair man gave the offer.

“I don’t know if we should come to your house. What is your opinion Maggi?” asked Bunty.

“I can’t say anything just now. I think we should all talk about it and decide.” Maggi didn’t want to decide alone on behalf of everyone.

“Take your time. We will meet tomorrow here at the same time.” The dark one replied and both of them went away.

The whole gang of ragpickers was confused. Was everything as easy as it sounded? Were the men speaking the truth?  Could life really become smooth and purposeful if they went there? Would they be able to get education and get good jobs when they grew up? It was not easy to take any decision. The most important thing was that they would no longer be independent. They would have to follow the routine there.

“I think we should go there. This is no life. We can’t be ragpickers all our life. We will always be poor and homeless.”  Hearing Bunty, we all began to think.

“Bunty is right. We may have to work hard but it would be for a better future,” said Tinkle. Happy and Lucky also agreed.

“So, its decided. We will all go with those two men. We can take a risk when we’re together,” said Maggi.

Next day all the five children went with the two men to the orphanage, ‘Hope’. It was a three storey, fifteen room building with a kitchen, a hall and three washrooms on each floor. There were separate rooms for girls and boys. Four children shared a room. Forty- four children of different age groups lived there.

 But everything was not so rosy as the two men had said. There was a workshop in the basement where all the children worked from early hours in the morning to late night. Children had to make candles of different colours and sizes. Then they were packed in small boxes and then in big cartons. Limited food was given so that they don’t become lethargic. The children who entered that orphanage forgot the meaning and feeling of sunlight. Life became hell for Bunty and his friends. They couldn’t even meet and talk.

Maggi and Lucky were sent to work in the store. Both of them were very obedient and worked sincerely. The storekeeper began to trust them and sometimes sent them to the shops to buy things he needed. Maggi and Lucky planned to run away. One day they wore two layers of clothes. They had nothing valuable in their belongings. When the storekeeper sent them to the nearest shop, they ran away with the money the storekeeper had given them. They threw the upper layer of their clothes in a garbage bin, entered an underground parking and hid behind a private taxi. As soon as the driver unlocked the taxi, they opened the boot or trunk of the taxi and hid inside. The driver did not notice as he was busy talking on the phone. He drove out of town towards a city on the sea shore. He had to pick a passenger. Maggi and Lucky fell asleep in the car trunk. They woke up when the driver opened the boot to keep the luggage. As soon as they saw the driver they jumped out and ran fast before anyone could understand anything.

Bad luck awaited them. They were running across the road when a car hit them and sped away. Lucky died instantly and Maggi was badly injured. A kind man took Maggi to a hospital. He waited for Maggi to gain consciousness. After a great effort he was able to make Maggi tell him the actual story. He was full of pity for her and decided to take her home and legally adopt her. This kind man was no other than George. In this way Maggi became George’s legally adopted daughter.

George lived alone before he brought Maggi. Tom was his housekeeper cum companion. George had a fast-food stall on the beach. The whole day he was busy. After Maggi came in his life, he employed a helper who could take care of all the work in his absence. He wanted to give time to Maggi and enjoy her growing-up. Both of them would play together, eat together and spend quality time.

George was a God -fearing man. The greater the faith George had in God; the more God put him to test. George’s parents died when he was very young. His Uncle and Aunt made him work the whole day and beat him quite often. They did not give him enough to eat. When George became an adult, they cheated him and made him sign legal papers regarding ownership of his father’s property and bank accounts. Then they forced him out of their house and their life. Even George wanted his uncle and his family out of his life so he left for good.

After leaving his Uncle’s house, he had nowhere to go. For two days he did not eat anything and fainted. A passer- by gave him water to revive him.  When he came to know that George was hungry and had no house or family, he offered him job in his shop. George was sincere, honest and workaholic. He worked hard the whole day, continuously, without rest.

One day the shop-owner, Bill, invited George to his house for dinner. There he met Gracey for the first time.

Bill: Hello George, you are very punctual.

George: Thank you Sir.

Bill: Please be seated. My wife and daughter have gone to the market. They will be back soon.

George: No problem, Sir.

Lucy and Gracey came back soon. Bill introduced them to George.

Bill: George, meet Lucy my wife and Gracey my daughter.

George: Hello Mam, hello Gracey. How do you do?

Gracey: Fine, thank you.

Lucy: How are you son? Come, Gracey, let’s get the dinner table ready.

After this meeting, George and Gracey became friends and enjoyed each other’s company.

When Bill asked them if they would choose each other as their life partner, they agreed. They got married and were blessed with a daughter, Sana.

George worked hard in his father-in-law’s shop. Initially Gracey was very happy to see this but, later, she realized that George did not have time for his family. His daughter was ten years old and he hadn’t even played with her for ten hours. She was sleeping when he went out in the morning or came back late at night. He earned a lot of money but his family wanted his company not his money. He worked seven days a week and fourteen hours a day. He had always wanted a family but when he had one, he didn’t value it.

Then came the worse day of his life. Gracey, Sana and some of their friends had gone to Mega Fair in the city. They were on the Giant Circle when there was a short circuit. The swing moved round and round rapidly and people started falling down. Gracey and Sana were among them. They died on the spot. George was shocked with grief. He hadn’t valued his family and his family left him alone.

When George met Maggi, he saw Sana in her. He saw his own misery in Maggi’s life history. So, he brought her to his house. He spent time with her and enjoyed her growing-up incidents. In short, he was remorseful and wanted to make up for ignoring his family.

Maggi was eighteen. She was a brilliant student and wanted to pursue Medical Sciences. She knew George couldn’t afford her studies. She worked diligently for scholarship exam and was successful.  The scholarship covered the entire expense which included college fees, hostel charges, books and personal medical equipment required.

George and Maggi started making a list of things she would need. Maggi promised George that she would always make him proud.