New Beginnings

50- Samar and the kids

Now I knew how Samar was so good with Sia.

Sitting in a class of 6 students ranging from 5-7 years and looking at Samar effortlessly manage them, brought a smile on my face.

This was the class where Samar taught kids some basics along with encouraging and motivating them to not give up on life, just because they couldn't see.

When we entered the class, the children were already seated on the floor along with their caretaker. 4 boys and 2 girls talking and playing animatedly.

As soon as they heard Samar's voice, four of them stood up excitedly, asking him to come near so that they could hug him, while the other two remained seated, looking slightly nervous.

"We got two more additions this year", the caretaker informed us, after the kids had sat down after hugging Samar.

No wonder they looked nervous. The other four must have met Samar before.

"Oh ok. Can you get me their details?" Samar asked politely.

The caretaker spoke about the kids in such a loving and motherly way that no one would have guessed that she was just a young woman in her late 20's.

After talking with her, Samar walked towards the kids.

The way he turned learning into games, it made everything so easier even though it wasn't.

I took a seat, little further away so as to not intrude them in learning as they were trying to walk. There was a higher chance that they would lose balance and fall, clashing with me if I was standing near them.

No sooner did Samar started talking and joking, the hesitance in new kids too evaporated.

I just sat there watching at their willpower and Samar's patience.

"Break", a little girl said, plopping down on the floor, in the exact spot she was standing.

Other kids took it a cue to chant 'Break', as they one by one sat down with tired sighs.

"Okay Okay. Let's take a break. Not like you all waited for my permission", Samar agreed with a chuckle.

A small laugh escaped my lips, looking at them.

Hearing my laugh, all the kids stilled, loosing their relaxed posture.

"Guys, don't be scared. She is my friend", Samar told them in a comforting voice.

"Trisha, come here", he called while moving his hands in 'come here'
gesture.

I walked and sat beside him unsurely. I was no better than the kids. My hesitance was as strong as their's if not more.

Samar didn't speak anything to kids after calling me there.

"Samar", I whispered, hoping he would get the hint.

"Ssssh", he shushed me.

After a silence of few seconds that felt like few hours, a boy who first called Samar to hug him, spoke up.

"If she is Samar's friend then she can't be bad. My name is Aarav. What's yours?" he asked, forwarding his hand.

God, the kid had more courage than me. Moving around as Aarav's hand was totally in wrong direction, I shook his hand and introduced myself.

Following the lead of Aarav, one by one each and every kid introduced themselves.

Aarav, Ishan, Reva and Vihaan were the four who ran towards Samar while Sara and Aakash were the new kids.

In no time, we all became close and they all started talking about random things, some real and some definitely from their imagination.

Obviously, Reva having a fight with a huge monster with a size of a building, or Vihaan being chased by his sister's dolls were not the things that happened in reality.

"So you also can't see like us?" Sara asked.

"Umm..I can", I answered a little hesitantly.

"You can? Then how are you friends with Samar?" Ishan asked looking genuinely confused.

His innocent words broke my heart. Ishan asking this question just meant that no one with their eyes intact had been his friend.

I took a deep breathe as this was a sensitive topic. Hoping that I won't make it worse, I answered truthfully.

"It doesn't matter if he can see or not. What matters is that he has a heart of gold. If someone doesn't like you just because you can't see then feel lucky as you don't want that type of person in your life.

"Even if you haven't met anyone yet, I am sure you will have lots of friends who can look behind your blindness. With me being first. Would you like to be my friend?"

"YES!!" he screamed and spread his arms, asking for a hug which I gladly did.

Soon everyone joined, making it a group hug.

"Okay now, break is over. Let's start our practice again", Samar announced, making everyone groan.

By everyone, I meant everyone, me included.

"If everyone does well in the practice, I will take permission from the staff for our storytime at night", Samar spoke and everyone erupted in cheers.

"Hoohooo", the kids bounced in their seats.

"I didn't know, storytime was such a treat", I muttered to myself thoughtfully.

"Kids love it, especially if Samar is the one who is reciting", caretaker answered my unasked question.

Naturally, a smile crept on my face hearing her praise Samar.

I never imagined my day in this camp to be this lively. Hoping that all other days would be just awesome like today, I went back to my seat and watched the kids practice.

Looking at this scene, I would have never imagined or prepared myself for the horror that the next day brought.

********

Don't forget to click the star button if you enjoyed this chapter.