Children

Going to work in an air conditioned car taking a clean highway, working 9 hours a day in a 19 story building.. I look forward to the simple things i get to witness on my way back home. I take a different route after work and i love it. It passes through a bazar (market) and i always look forward to it. The smell of all kinds of food,  the sound of automobiles, people... its always refreshing. We stopped near a fruit stall because my brother had to buy grocery. A little boy caught my attention when he tried to pick up a banana from the fruit stall but the seller (his father) scolded him away. He jumped back with fear and took a seat a few steps away from his dad. He had one of the most innocent looks on his face. My heart ached for him. His brother was sitting at the corner of the stall the entire time, attentively watching his father sell the fruit, probably because he is going to be the bread earner after his father and would sell fruit for the rest of his life. A few minutes passed and the elder brother started shouting slogans to attract customers. His brother joined to tease him and they both burst into a laugh. I watched them quietly, smiling through tears, thinking how simple and beautiful yet so unfair their life is. No one deserves to be poor. No child deserves to stay deprived of education and basic necessities. No child deserves to stay deprived of a normal childhood. No child deserves having to grow up so fast. May God be with the children