Outstanding Story - A Blessing in Disguise

“A Blessing in Disguise” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2017 written by Nabeeha Raheel, Saudi Arabia.

A Blessing in Disguise

In our daily lives, we come across many homeless families. My story revolves around one such small family, Emily and her mom. They had been homeless for quit sometime. No one knew why.

At night, the shelter for them was the bridge and during the day, mostly around cafés looking for leftover food for survival. Homeless life with a young daughter was difficult.

One such day, they were going towards the café when Emily stopped and showed her mom, a tiny, weak and extremely cute kitten shivering under the bin. She picked it up and snuggled it in her jacket. She told her mom with the cutest smile ever that she wanted to keep the kitten. Her mother couldn’t refuse her. She kept thinking that feeding themselves was a tough task, and now a kitten? But her little daughter needed a friend. She smiled back and they went to a nearby café and sat outside waiting for leftovers. Emily was busy keeping her tiny friend warm and cosy when a woman placed a leftover donut beside her. Emily looked up and tugged onto her skirt. The lady surprised, turned and Emily asked her, ‘Can you give me some milk?’

The lady sat down on her knees and asked sarcastically, ‘Do you want to dip your donut in it?’ Emily’s mom was taken back by her question, and heavy heartedly she looked down.

Emily answered ‘No, no, I don’t want to eat anything. I want my cuddly friend to have some so we can play.’

Now the lady was really shaken. Then, Emily took the kitten out of her lap and said ‘I can wait and my mom can take care of me but she has no one.’ The lady now was heartbroken. She hugged Emily and thanked her for teaching her a lesson she’ll never forget. We all owe each other respect and a helping hand. She asked Emily and her mom to come with her. She was working in a nursing home. Emily’s Mom didn’t only get a job but a place to stay and take care of Emily and her friend. The little kitten and Emily’s kindness indeed was a blessing in disguise. No doubt- no act of kindness, no matter how small, is never wasted.