Here’s a soulful story how a special needs child gave meaning to the life of the protagonist, Siddartha, by Dr. Gita. She dedicated this story to the differently abled children, who motivate us towards positivity. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Everybody went there to give something to them. Siddhartha went there to bring something, love and inner peace of his heart. He thought, “This is the place where you receive lots of love, and see beautiful smiles at the dried lip corners when you do things unconditionally. They give heart-filled love, and warm hugs. However, unintentionally, they also ask so many innocent questions to society and to humanity.”

“…They are the path guiders, disguised behind different challenges, as special needs children, teaching us the values of life, being compassionate and loving.”

Siddartha pondered, “They are the moral-filled gift packs from God to mankind to let us feel about the love, service and for doing things unconditionally. They are the path guiders, disguised behind different challenges, as special needs children, teaching us the values of life, being compassionate and loving.”

Siddartha never realised the finer aspects of life earlier, until there was a strong jolt. There was a golden time and he too had a beautiful family like any other normal person. The pages from his past life started flipping in front of him, blown by the storm of his turbulent emotions. He started visualising, with tear-filled eyes, page after page. Some parts were too hazy, blurred by tears… 

All of a sudden, a soft little voice distracted him. He turned around and looked into her eyes. Those were full of love and brimming with life.

All of a sudden, a soft little voice distracted him. He turned around and looked into her eyes. Those were full of love and brimming with life. She asked him to play with her. He could not deny her innocent invitation, as if he were a machine that was switched on. She said in a mock commanding voice, “You are not allowed to sit alone here when I asked you to play with me.” She started giggling. Like an obedient child, he did whatever the little angel wanted him to do.

Siddartha slowly developed a special bond with her, started imagining his lost baby girl in her. He became friends with her. And with her friends too. His empty heart was filled with love, gradually. Life started returning back on the tracks. By this time, the little girl already taught him how hard it might be, the rule of life is to move on, meaningfully. 

It was an orphanage and a special needs children school, which was running somehow, in a poor condition, with the help of local people and with very little government aid.  Siddartha started seeing a very similar situation between him and the kids over there, i.e., none of them had a family.

It was an orphanage and a special needs children school, which was running somehow, in a poor condition, with the help of local people and with very little government aid.  Siddartha started seeing a very similar situation between him and the kids over there, i.e., none of them had a family. He gradually developed a symbiotic relationship with these children. He went there to spend his free time to get some life, happiness and inner solace. 

Often, he thought as a grown up. Perhaps he still had tools to shape his life, while walking ahead on a dark, bleak and dreary road. However, these little special needs children here faced grim challenges, easily and effortlessly. They knew whoever had come there were not their own but they treated everybody as their own. Siddartha started learning to reciprocate with them, especially with that little girl and felt as if she was his daughter. 

Time healed the wounds. It came to him in the form of a little girl and the special needs children. They gave meaning to his life, slowly.

Time healed the wounds. It came to him in the form of a little girl and the special needs children. They gave meaning to his life, slowly. Monthly to weekly, and then frequent visits made him feel that he also had a family and that they were waiting for him with unconditional love. He felt a demand on his dreary time. For him, the meaninglessness gave way to a purpose in life. He started learning that the special needs children were strongly motivated, skillful to handle their disabilities. They were differently abled, despite all the odds. Like him, they also did not need sympathy. They needed love, warm and genuine. 

Actually, they were teaching him to unfold a much more meaningful part of life. Who said these kids were under privileged! He started feeling privileged coming in contact with them. Gradually, his detached and meaningless life had a specific goal. His world started revolving around them and the little girl had a special place in his life. 

Days passed. Dark clouds of gloom had shattered. There was sunshine and fresh breeze of hope. The void and ache in his heart, deep sorrows and agonies of life gave way to cheerfulness.

Days passed. Dark clouds of gloom had shattered. There was sunshine and fresh breeze of hope. The void and ache in his heart, deep sorrows and agonies of life gave way to cheerfulness. The laughter and mirth of children were cathartic and curative.

The special needs children had already taught him the skill of handling life in despair. When you feel nothing is left, you only have the option to overcome the grim challenges in life. The choice is yours, to accept defeat or to keep on overcoming the many challenges; use your intellect, positively. The simple lesson is, just move on.

One afternoon, while Siddartha was spending some time with the little girl, she showed him some paintings. He said, “All these days, I never knew that you painted.”

One afternoon, while Siddartha was spending some time with the little girl, she showed him some paintings. He said, “All these days, I never knew that you painted.” The girl replied, “May be all these days you never noticed anything else.” 

“What?” Such a philosophical statement. 

“No Sid uncle – I was kidding. As I am small I do not know how to write, I feel happy when I express my thoughts through painting”. 

Siddhartha was smiling and looking at the paintings. He observed that the little girl was perspiring and looked pale. He noticed a ray of dim sunset on her tired face. He asked, “Are you alright, you look so tired.” She took a long deep breath with great difficulty and a tired smile, she said, “I look tired often nowadays but actually I am not.” May be she was saying that she was not tired of life… she wanted to give meaning to it, by living. 

The little girl protested, “No, no… no evening, no night, no darkness, no sleeping. All the moments are like morning to me, I want to be awake and do not want to sleep.”

Siddhartha could not know anything, he said, “Look, its evening, maybe you need some rest and sleep.” The little girl protested, “No, no… no evening, no night, no darkness, no sleeping. All the moments are like morning to me, I want to be awake and do not want to sleep.” Again her words sounded profound, much beyond her age to him.

Siddhartha took the little girl in his arm,pushing back her hair behind her ears, he said, affectionately, “My little angel, I would be back again to play with you and see your paintings. I have to go on an official tour. I would be back after three days with lots of toys for you and our other friends.” The little girl with a sad face and heavy voice said, “Yes, you will be coming here regularly. It is your little angel’s order. Goodbye Sid uncle. Please wait, one more thing, can you please bring some colours for me?” Her voice again sounded philosophical to him, as if she was talking about the colours of life. With a smile, Siddhartha rued, “Yes, I will bring colours for you.” He left that day.

After three days, on a cloudy afternoon, with the colours in hand, Siddhartha was moving fast with long strides. Excitement made him breathe faster.

After three days, on a cloudy afternoon, with the colours in hand, Siddhartha was moving fast with long strides. Excitement made him breathe faster. Like every time, he was expecting the little girl would come running and jump onto his lap. 

Before the storm, the dark black clouds appear.  In spite of all his efforts, negative thoughts were rushing onto his mind at the same pace as the storm. His past – that is the fear of losing,  made him scared to death, again. His mind was consoling his heart that everything was alright; everything was in place. All of a sudden, a strong wind gushed in and shattered everything!  

Disheartened and disappointed, he enquired about her, and came to know that she was in the last stage of leukemia 

Disheartened and disappointed, he enquired about her, and came to know that she was in the last stage of leukemia and a day before she passed away. Colours fell down from his hand and spilled all over. He saw a tragic picture of life lying on the floor. He felt that the wind had stopped blowing and there was a deficiency of oxygen. He was breathless, gasping. The ether was calm and nature was silent. Everything had stopped at that moment for him.  

Darkness and despair loomed large in front of him. He lost control and somehow sat down across the wall. His freshly organised world had shattered, again, as if somebody scratched his freshly healed wounds. Unbearable pain in his heart derailed his life, once again. He felt as if his world stopped revolving as the gravitational force of his life was not there, any more. The principal of the organisation persuaded him to hear something.

The principal said that she never wanted her visitors, especially you to know about her life threatening disease.

The principal said that she never wanted her visitors, especially you to know about her life threatening disease. Probably she did not want to see the fear of death and

sadness for her in other’s eyes. In spite of her illness, she always wanted to remain happy and wished everybody to be happy around her. She won over the fear of pain and death. Till her last moment, she was full of life. In her deathbed, while counting her last moments, she was looking for you and said that she left a painting for you. She could not paint any more. However, on her behalf, her friends would paint for you with the colours that you bought for her.

With a trembling hand Siddhartha took the painting from the principal and saw the last message from her, which taught him a lesson for life. Holding it tight, at the vulnerable moment, it was giving the strength to bring his life back on track again, despite gloom. It was, ‘Move on, move on, live a meaningful life’. Holding her painting tight against his chest, he felt as if he was holding the little girl against him and could not let it slip away from him. Wiping his tears, he looked at the painting, where she herself was in a yellow frock with curly hairs falling on her face and hiding behind a group of her friends. As if she was saying, “I am here and always here – find me among others. Keep on coming, keep on moving. Life is about living, meaningfully.”

Siddhartha took the chain in his hand and looked at it.  Her name was imprinted in the locket.

Diverting him from the chain of his thought, the principal said, “As you were insisting about her adoption, we would like to share some thing related to her with you,” and extended a chain with a locket, adding, “This was obtained, while she was rescued and brought here by an NGO.” Siddhartha took the chain in his hand and looked at it.  Her name was imprinted in the locket. He was shocked, it was his missing daughter, “Roshni – the light”. 

Again today, in her absence, her physical absence, she helped him to hold onto life. He remembered her voice, telling him, “You will be coming back here. Come back with colours,” which synchronised with her painting, “Find me I am here among others.”

You need not lose something to learn about the passion and motive of life. Life is always about moving on, meaningfully.

Photo from the Internet