Skip to main content

Translate

A Quest for Heaven

A Quest for Heaven

  written by Priyanka Banerjee, Delhi (India)

   Yasi was sitting outside of her house and unwinking she was watching the hill which was not far from her house.

She heard from Kamala aunty that on the other side of the hill there were some children like her. 

Yasi was thinking about her good days when her grandfather took her for an evening walk; though that was not a perfect ‘walk’ for her, but her grandfather used to say “Yasi, let’s have a walk together.” Sitting alone on her wheel chair, Yasi was recollecting those stories which her grandfather used to say her. Yasi never saw her grandmother as she passed away before the birth of Yasi; but her grandfather used to say so many stories about his beloved wife that Yasi could visualize everything.” 

Yasi’s reverie broke by the voice of Kamala aunty. In the soft light of twilight Yasi saw all the birds were going back to their nests. Every evening when she saw this ,she knew this was also her time to go to her room. Sighing Yasi turned her wheel chair. 

Every time she looked at the sky, a question came to her mind “ Is there really a beautiful heaven beyond the sky?”

Yasi was a girl of twenty-two. Her father was a well - known businessperson. Yasi got everything she needed, but somehow she was not happy from within. Her grandfather was her only friend in her family whom she had lost four years ago. 

Now there was no one to tell her stories or to take her for a walk in the evening. 

Yasi herself roamed here and there near her house. Kamala aunty was her only friend after the demise of her grandfather. From her childhood Yasi knew that she was different from her elder sister, Malini. Every time, in every occasion, she understood that Malini got more importance than her. Later she understood that the only difference between Malini and her was that Malini did not have to use a wheelchair for going here and there. 

Yasi’s family never felt the importance of spending as much money for Yasi as they spent for Malini’s education. Malini used to go to a well known school, whereas Yasi was sent to another school where the school fees was less than half of Malini’s school. Yasi never complained or wept for all these negligence; rather she thought all these treatments quite natural as she was habituated with these since her childhood.. 

The day when Malini went to London for her further studies, she saw that her father was bragging before one of their neighbours, “ Yes, Mr. Roy, Malini is my quotable daughter. Let my daughter complete her M.B.A, then she will take the oar my business.” Yasi never heard this phrase-‘my daughter’-from her father, for her. 

It was Yasi’s twenty third birthday; though she knew except Kamala aunty no one was there to wish her. Yasi had a hidden wish for a long time and the urge of fulfilling her wish was increasing day by day. 

Yasi was lying in the bed when Kamala aunty entered into her room with a big smile “ Happy birthday Yasi, get up fast, today I will take you to the foot of that hill. A temple is there. Do you want to go there? It’s been long you did not go for a walk, let’s go today.”

After two long years Yasi again heard someone who offered her a walk just as her grandfather. With a broad smile Yasi nodded her head and said, “Aunty I have a request and you have to keep it.” Kamala aunty was looking at her questioningly. “I want to go on the other side of the hill” Yasi kept on saying “I want to meet all those who are like me.” Kamala aunty said, “okay.” This is the first time Yasi asked something from Kamala aunty and she could not neglect it. 

It was ten o’ clock in the morning when Yasi reached the orphanage. There were many children- some were physically challenged and some were not. Yasi found six children who used wheel chair like her to go here and there. 

Yasi was amazed to see that there was no difference among those children. All were playing together; no one was neglected; everyone was treated equally; everyone was happy there. This was something which was beyond the imagination of Yasi. This was the first time when she started to think herself as equal as the other members of her family. She spent a good time there. She told the children some stories of kings and queens which was told to her by her grandfather. She also had her lunch with them – this was the first time she was having lunch so happily as she never got a chance to sit with her family members during lunch or dinner time. 

In the evening she returned home. This was the first time she did not feel abandoned, this was the first time she felt herself as normal as the other people, this was the first time when she found a place where she got the treatment of a family member. Some how she felt a strong connection with those children of that orphanage. The innocent smiles of those faces were floating in front of her eyes. She started to go to the orphanage regularly and spent a good amount of time there. 

Gradually she started going there without the help of Kamala aunty and spent more and more time with those children. The other members of the orphanage also liked Yasi very much. 

Days passed. It had been almost a year Yasi was working in the orphanage as a teacher. She stayed there with the other members of the orphanage and rarely went to her house to meet with her parents. Kamala aunty often came to the orphanage to see Yasi. Yasi was twenty four. 

This year the whole orphanage celebrated Yasi’s birthday with splendour. Of course Kamala aunty was present there, after all it was Kamala aunty who first brought Yasi into her heaven.

Moral : Treat everyone equally.Never feel depressed; there is always something better for you.

Label : Inflame Story

Writer : Priyanka Banerjee, Delhi (India) 


Comments

  1. Just the perfect story to be shared with children...beautiful...very much needed in today's world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love how deep and rich this character is. She's very relatable, and feels totally real.you can extend this story.the protagonist character reminds me Pollyanna novel by American author Eleanor

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short learning English by story Once upon a time, there lived two pigeons. They were husband and wife. They spend their day looking for food. In the evening they would come and rest on their favorite tree in the forest.  One evening, the wife returned home early. A usual she was waiting for her husband, when suddenly it started raining. She strated to worry. “Where are you, my dear? You never get so late," she whispered to herself.   Just then she saw a bird-catcher coming towards her. In a cage he had a pigeon. It was her husband. “OH no, what shall I do now" I wish I can help my husband," she said. She desperately tried to distract the bird-catcher by flapping her wings, but all in vain.  Soon, it stopped raining. “Brrr! It is so cold," said the bird-catcher. His clothes were wet. He decided to sit under the same tree where the two pigeons lived.  The poor wife sat by her husband’s cage. And she started

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short learning English by story Every summer, Penny travels to a family reunion barbeque. Penny is never excited, and this year is no different. She dreads the drive.  She does not like talking to her relatives. And she does not like the smell of hamburgers. (Penny is a vegetarian.) When Penny arrives, she sees lots of familiar faces. It is July and Uncle Vernon is wearing a sweater. Uncle Vernon is always cold. It’s very mysterious.  She sees her cousin Polly. Polly has six children. The youngest one screams. Then the oldest one screams. Polly’s children are always screaming.  She sees many of her other cousins in the field playing softball. They play a softball game every year, and it always ends in a big argument.  Penny wonders, again, why they never solve it. Then Penny sees an incredibly handsome man. She stares at him. He catches her staring. He smiles and walks over to her. Penny is very nervous. She is nervous because a handso

"All the Difference in The World' An English Story in Short

"All the Difference in The World' An English Story in Short Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by th is lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. “Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.” She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It ca

"The Death Car" An English Story in Short

"The Death Car" An English Story in Short learning English by story  It was a cold night in September. The rain was drumming on the car roof as George and Marie Winston drove through the empty country roads towards the house of their friends, the Harrisons, where they were going to attend a party to celebrate the engagement of the Harrisons' daughter, Lisa. As they drove, they listened to the local radio station, which was playing classical music.       They were about five miles from their destination when the music on the radio was interrupted by a news announcement:       "The Cheshire police have issued a serious warning after a man escaped from Colford Mental Hospital earlier this evening. The man, John Downey, is a murderer who killed six people before he was captured two years ago. He is described as large, very strong and extremely dangerous. People in the Cheshire area are warned to keep their doors and windows locked, and to call the police immediately if t

"Find your own destiny" An English Short Story with moral

"Find your own destiny" An English Short Story with moral Once five men were caught in a thick forest. The first man said, I will go left. Because my Intuition said so. The second one said, I will go the right because the right comes from the word rightness. The third one said, I will go back the way we came. The fourth one said, I will go straight. We should move forward, the forest will end and we will go somewhere new. The fifth one said, you are all wrong. There is a better solution. Wait for me.He climbed the tallest tree he could find while everyone else went their own way. From above he saw the shortest way to exit. He could also see the order in which the others would exit. He understood the problem and found the best solution. He knew that he did everything right. The others are were wrong. They were stubborn and they didn't listen to him. He was the real wise man. But he was wrong. Everyone was right. They were all wise. The man who went to t

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh . . . Love, I

"A MAD MAN IN THE CITY" Short Story in English

A MAD MAN IN THE CITY Julian finally left his village when there was no one left living there. He had never left his beloved village before, but intrigued by the fact that everyone had gone to the city, he decided to go and see for himself what wonderful things those cities had. So he packed a knapsack with a few clothes, put on his best smile, and off he went to the city. On reaching the city, he was given a most unexpected welcome. A couple of policemen stopped Julian and questioned him in great detail. It turned out that Julian had seemed 'suspiciously happy' for someone with hardly any possessions. In the end, the police had to let him go, but they were still suspicious about this apparently simple and good-natured fellow. The first thing Julian noticed about the city was all the rushing around. Everyone was in such a hurry that he thought that there must be something special happening that day, which no one wanted to miss. Curious as to what it was, Julian started followin

Poems

Next

"The Carpet Fitter" An English Story in Short

"The Carpet Fitter" An English Story in Short learning English by story  Eddie was a carpet fitter, and he hated it. For ten years he had spent his days sitting, squatting, kneeling or crawling on floors, in houses, offices, shops, factories and restaurants. Ten years of his life, cutting and fitting carpets for other people to walk on, without even seeing them. When his work was done, no-one ever appreciated it. No- one ever said "Oh, that's a beautiful job, the carpet fits so neatly." They just walked all over it. Eddie was sick of it.    He was especially sick of it on this hot, humid day in August, as he worked to put the finishing touches to today's job. He was just cutting and fixing the last edge on a huge red carpet which he had fitted in the living room of Mrs. Vanbrugh's house. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh, who changed her carpets every year, and always bought the best. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh, who had never even given him a cup of tea all day, and who made h

The Donkey Who Would Sing

 The Donkey Who Would Sing learning English by story A wild donkey once lived in the woods. He had no friends and lived all alone. One day a jackal passing by saw the donkey. He went up to the donkey and said, “What is the matter? Why do you look so sad my dear fellow?" The donkey turned to the jackal and said, “I have no friends and am very lonely." “Well, don't worry. I will be your friend from today," the jackal comforted him. From that day, the donkey and jackal became very good friends. They were always seen together. One moonlit evening, the jackal and the donkey were strolling through the woods. It was a cool and pleasant evening. As they walked on, they came to the outskirts of a village bordering the woods. There in front of them was a grove of fruit trees. “Ah. Look! How wonderful and delicious the fruits look," said the donkey. “Let’s eat some of them." “Okay," said the jackal. “But let’s do it very quietly." They entered the grove and