Many hands were raised, as I displayed a fun picture depicting the job of the Astronaut, on the smartboard. All eager eyes were pleading me to give him or her a chance to speak about it, bobbing from their seats.

Before I go further, let me introduce myself. I am Parvati Subramaniam. I am a Kinder Garten teacher. For my Senior KG class, I had planned to introduce various professions throughout that month.

Here, I was in the class encouraging the students to speak about the picture. Letting  the children open up on the topic and then supplying them with the details was my way of unfolding the subject. I was delighted at the response from the children. Kids these days are smart, aren’t they?

What caught my attention was a twinkle in the eyes of Tejas who had raised his hand. He was brimming with joy to share something special. What was more interesting for me was the fact that though sharp in grasping the concepts, Tejas was one of the most introverted and reclusive children in the class. He was the one who would need a lot of space and encouragement to open up and express.

“Children please put your hands together as I call Tejas to speak about the picture”, I announced.

Tejas came and stood facing of the smartboard. He looked at the board very carefully and said pointing to the figure of the astronaut….

“This is my father. My mother told me he lives amongst the stars. When I asked her about what he does there, she had told me that he has a lot of work to do. I guess that’s the reason he has no time to visit us or call us. I think, if I was also there amongst the stars, I would be lost in checking out a lot of things around me. There must be rockets whizzing past, shooting stars to say hello to. And maybe an alien space ship to check out. I will carry the magnifying glass that my granny uses to read newspapers, to find out tiny stars. I have no complaint now that my father has no time for us. Now I have some plans. I will join him up there in the stars when I grow up and then we will have lots of fun together”. With that he paused and looked confidently at me.

A tear was about to escape from my eye that would have thrown a wet blanket on the child’s newfound joy. For I was aware that Tejas had lost his father as the space ship he was in, met with an accident at the hands of the cosmic storm,  when Tejas was a toddler. Clearing my throat, that was chocked with emotions, I clapped and said, “Well said. Don’t forget to say hello to us from your spaceship when you go up there. Children put your hands together for Tejas”.

The class clapped for Tejas as he returned to his seat confidently with plans of meeting his father among the stars, leaving a vacuum in my heart.


Picture courtesy Pixabay
Explore previous stories at Stack of Stories
Categories: FictionShort Story

28 Comments

Meena · April 25, 2020 at 7:20 am

Wonderful story. A child’s imagination and innocence is one of wonders of the world. I’m glad teacher went along with his innocence

Durga Prasad Dash · April 25, 2020 at 7:39 am

A touching story indeed. Of course the child will learn the truth. But a little bit of illusion in that stage of life is not bad.

Matheikal · April 25, 2020 at 7:44 am

That vacuum is a tragic one, no doubt. But I was struck more by the creativity, the imaginativeness, of Tejas.

soniadogra · April 25, 2020 at 8:00 am

Lovely and heart rending. Children can make the most complicated matters in life seem simple with their palpable understanding of it.

Jyoti arora · April 25, 2020 at 9:30 am

Anagha, that was a touching take too !! But best was the kids imagination !!

Ravish Mani · April 25, 2020 at 9:38 am

The only thing that matters is one’s attitude. Like the way you handle the emotion in the story. 🙂

Shweta Suresh · April 25, 2020 at 9:42 am

This moved me to tears, Anagha. A beautiful story. Children do have a particular innocence about them. This also reminded me of a story that I had written a long while ago:
tiny tale #6: Abstract: https//thesoulsearchersite.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/abstract/

Unishta · April 25, 2020 at 11:45 am

That was indeed a very poignant story. Children are very conscious of being different from others and living without a parent can be a great source of trauma

jayanthi6 · April 25, 2020 at 1:06 pm

Lovely story, Anagha…was just moved by the boys words…

Dashy · April 25, 2020 at 1:49 pm

Heart touching story. Tejas is a smart boy, willing to understand the circumstance and deal with it.Yet another beautifully written tale.

Vaishali Khot · April 25, 2020 at 3:08 pm

A very touching tale.. Children are truely innocent . The pure innocence of Tejas makes it easy for him to digest the hard truth that his father is not with him

Srivalli · April 25, 2020 at 3:28 pm

A heartbreaking story. A child’s innocence can make laugh or cry. This is the most beautiful tale I’ve read today.

sundeepananthd · April 25, 2020 at 4:07 pm

Children have a very raw mindset and this story was very beautiful and heart wreaking for me Anagha.
I wish to read more from you again soon. Until then, Happy A2Zing 🙂
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bloggeray · April 25, 2020 at 5:09 pm

Wow! This is excellent. That point where the child starts speaking tugs at the heart. Superb piece of fiction. 👏👏

Madhu Bindra · April 25, 2020 at 5:23 pm

A touching story. And full of a child’s innocence. Very well written, beta.

Neeta Kamboj · April 25, 2020 at 5:48 pm

Wow, very beautiful written

Archana (@yenforblue) · April 25, 2020 at 6:59 pm

That is so moving! Its difficult to explain this kind of loss to a child .. Well written as always Anagha!

purbajune · April 25, 2020 at 8:48 pm

This is such a moving story. Loved the reply of Tejas.

Ira Mishra · April 25, 2020 at 9:13 pm

Such a touching tale… It’s so nice if we could all be like these little kids and see life through their magnifying glasses…. Which have that magic of just making happiness and excitement big in size and make any big sadness tiny enough to not notice!!

Keith's Ramblings · April 25, 2020 at 9:34 pm

Goodness me, what a touching tale. A lovely story lovingly written.

V is for …

TheDreamGirlWrites · April 26, 2020 at 1:07 am

Aww, the innocence of a child..
Such a beautiful story!

alpanadeo · April 26, 2020 at 1:31 am

I used to tell my daughter when she asked me where is my grandma. She became a star and how easily she accepted that. That’s kid’s innocence. Tejas is such a sweet and brave boy who accepted the fact and kept it in a heartwarming story in his heart.

Shilpa Garg · April 26, 2020 at 9:00 am

Oh! This brought a tear in my eyes and a lump in my throat!
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL, Anagha!

msjadeli · April 26, 2020 at 9:56 am

She is a talented teacher and the children are blessed to have her.

Pradeep · April 26, 2020 at 11:07 am

A very heartrending story. There is no limit to a child’s imagination.

Pr@Gun · April 27, 2020 at 12:17 am

Wow, beautiful and heartfelt story.
Beautifully expressed

Arushi Seth · April 29, 2020 at 6:20 pm

Beautiful and heartfelt. left me speechless with moist eyes. Kids are innocent and they can simplify the most difficult of things as well.

sinjanag · April 29, 2020 at 10:22 pm

What a beautiful moving short story. you indeed have a penchant for storytelling.

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