I watched my mom as she begged for money in the streets. People hardly glanced at her; after all, who was she but yet another part of the city’s humongous beggar population. And she was a cripple at that, who would want to watch a woman with two grotesque amputee legs.
I watched my mom as she hobbled on what was left of her legs and tried to catch the attention of the people. Some stopped and spared her a penny or two, others simply ignored her. I watched her hard eyes which others suspected were so because she was bereft of any emotion but I knew better. I knew that she simply was tired: tired of crying, tired of the hardships, tired of her life.
I watched when she was pushed by the throng of bus commuters, catching the bus to their monotonous jobs. I watched as she struggled to get up and no one came forward to help. Everyone with their cell phones and busy lives didn’t have a minute to spare to help my poor mother, a cripple. I watched when she looked around searching for someone in the crowd, maybe me.
But she will never see me again. Not because I don’t want to. Because I can’t. I haven't yet told you how my mother lost her legs, have I ?
A bomb had ripped through her legs and had rendered her a cripple. I can still remember Maa’s blood curling shrieks. I can still remember her screams of pain as her heart wrenched apart, as she lost everything at once. Her eyes watched me but her legs didn’t allow her to move. Tears flowed as she watched her only son burning. The same bomb which had taken her legs, also killed her son, me.
If I would have been here maybe things would have been better. I could have taken care of my mother. She wouldn't have had to beg. But I am not here. Even if I am, I can only watch my mother struggle. Only watch. Watch .. Watch .. Watch !
