And life goes on...

Chapter 8

“Sweetie! I asked you to put away the toys that you don’t play with in the yellow basket so that we could donate it to other children.” I asked Estella. She didn’t reply. She just kept staring the floor as in guilt. I sat down to her level and took her tiny hands in mine.

“Mama?” She called in a slow tone full of remorse. Her face was filled with confusion.

“Mama’s life! What is it?” I asked her caressing her check with my hand now.

“Mama, I’m sorry I didn’t do as you have asked. I... I don’t want to give my toys away.” She finally looked back at me. I understood what troubled her. I decided to teach her a life lesson that day.

“And why is mama’s darling so reluctant?” I asked politely. She turned away from me and folded her arms on her tiny chest.

“I... I really love all of them. I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re all my favorites.” She spoke in remorse. I turned her back around by shoulders to face me. Her eyes were still spotting the floor and her both hands were fidgeting. I took both of her arms in my hands.

“Honey, I want to show you something. Open your palms.” Her eyes suddenly sparked and she opened her tiny palms in front of me. I took her two big blue sparkly bounce balls and placed each in her tiny palms that barely grabbed them. Then I took a green colored bounce ball that lied next to the yellow basket and tried to make it stay on the blue one. But since her palms were full, it came falling down again and again.

“Mama! It won’t stay on it. My hands are full.” She had a smile on her face now.

“Really?” I asked. She nodded her head feverously.

“What if I want you to hold the green ball? How would that fit in?” I asked.

“Well, in that case, I’d have to drop the blue one. And then I can have the green.” She told me enthusiastically and let the blue ball fall from her palm. Then grabbed the green one and smiled at me.

“You see honey, it’s the way God works. You have to empty your hands to get new things. If you give away things you love for God..” I paused and took away the blue ball from the other hand and replaced it with another yellow one.

“..Then God gives you something even better.” Estella looked at me with a confused look.

“You see, you can’t have something new if your palms are full, right?” She looked at me. A smile broke at her face and she nodded.

“If I empty my palms, God will refill them?” she asked. I lightly pinched her nose and was proud of how she learnt so quickly.

“Yes, love. He would.”

“And I can’t have anything else if my hands are full. Right, mama?” She asked with a bright smile on her face.

“That’s right, love.” I kissed her on the cheek and stood up.

“Now who would be a good girl and give away things for God? Hmm... I wonder.” I asked putting a finger on my cheek.

“I’d do it, mama. I’d do it.” She jumped up and down and starting doing her job. I wanted my daughter to have positivity in her life no matter what. I wanted her to have hope.

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It was the third time Estella fell like that. I was worried sick. At first I thought it was because she and Charlie fell while playing but it wasn’t like that.

“Mr. and Mrs. Alexander?” The peon called us. We stood up.

“The doctor is inside.” He said asking us to go to the doctor. The doctor asked us to have seat after we entered. He had my Estella’s reports in his hands.