"How long has it been?" Elara thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling while she lay still on the bed, listening to the daily news from her humming radio. The voice on the radio wasn't too clear, but it was good enough to hear what the presenter was saying. "I should have helped him, I should have" Elara murmured as she closed her eyes to reminisce on what happened the previous day.
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Elara was known for her gentle spirit and readiness to help, she was the kind of person people turned to in moments of need. Yet, Elara carried a weight that only she could feel—a silent burden of guilt that haunted her every step and this all happened after she met the little boy at the market.
One cool evening, Elara was on her way back home after she had closed from work, she decided to pass through the marketplace hoping to get some ingredients for the meal she was going to prepare when she got home even though she was feeling so tired. She walked through the market under the red sun but golden sky, the sun was bright yet it wasn't giving any heat. Elara walked through different vendors in her blue jean trousers and a white blouse, calling out to her, parading and peddling fresh produce and handmade wares, while children darted between the stalls, laughing. Amid this lively scene, Elara noticed a boy sitting alone by a store. His clothes were threadbare, and his cheeks, smudged with dirt, hollowed slightly from hunger.
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She paused to look at him, wondering if she should make her way home because she was already tired or if she should ask where his guardians were. She turned around and made her way to the fish store but it was against her nature so she turned back and walked towards the little boy.
“Hello there,” she said softly, kneeling to meet his eye level. “What are you doing here all alone?”
The boy blinked up at her, startled at first, then relaxed. “I’m waiting,” he said.
“For who?”
He hesitated. “For someone kind enough to help.”
Her chest tightened. “Are you hungry?”
The boy nodded. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”
"Ok, wait here. I am coming back soon"
Elara hurriedly rushed to the bakery close by and got some snacks for him. She took it back to him, gave it to him and he started eating in a rush.
"Take it easy, the food is for you, no one will take it from you" she suggested to him.
"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked him.
"No, I don't. I sleep under any store table I see in the market" He said while looking up to her.
“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” she said finally, forcing a smile.
The boy’s face fell, but he nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Elara walked away, her heart heavy. She got home but couldn't stop thinking about him. “He needed me,” she murmured to herself, but there was nothing she could do at that moment.
The Next Day
"How long has it been?" Elara thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling while she lay still on the bed, listening to the daily news from her humming radio. The voice on the radio wasn't too clear, but it was good enough to hear what the presenter was saying. "I should have helped him, I should have" Elara murmured as she closed her eyes to reminisce on what happened the previous day.
The guilt she was feeling was like a mother who left her child on the road without looking back, so she jumped up from her bed, washed her face, and rushed out of the house not minded how rough her hair was.
She went to the market and searched for the little boy but she couldn't find him, anyone. She began to ask but no knows where he had been. Elara became so sad and felt a mountain of guilt on herself.
"Probably someone found him," she thought to herself. As she made her way home, with a sad expression on her face, she felt a hand pulling her flare skirt. She turned around and it was the little boy from yesterday.
"Thank you ma for yesterday," The little boy said while facing the ground because he was too shy to look at her. Just as the little boy was holding his hands together waiting for a response, Elara picked him up and said
"Would you like to follow me home so I can start taking care of you"
With tears in his eyes, he couldn't say anything but continue to nod his head. Elara took him home and they started living as a family from that day.
