Highly Commended Story - A Differently Abled Person

“A Differently Abled Person” by Sarah Daneill, Rustomjee Cambridge International School and Jr. College, Dahisar, India, is the Highly Commended story in the senior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2019.

Sarah G. Daniell, is a confident, self motivated and a creative thinker. Her Biblical name is derived from an ancient Persian celeb which means, ‘princess’. Sarah is cute and hilarious. She is observant by nature & independent in her ways and thoughts, doesn’t hesitate to express her opinion. Sarah enjoys singing and is always humming tunes. She dances gracefully and plays football. Sarah is compassionate, loving by nature & accommodating. She’s honest, someone, who can be very explicit in any situation she encounters!

A Differently Abled Person

Life in a metro, all the hustle and bustle on a daily basis, not so easy to deal with, but we do get used to it for sure.

“Get in please, hurry, I barely have place to keep my feet,” said Margaret. That day, the rush in the local train was more than usual. Both the sisters, Margaret and Leah were struggling to get into the train. It was a Monday morning, and there was no other option, so they had to get into the train which came from Virar as they were already late for work. They had one foot each inside the train and were literally hanging out, balancing the rest of their body somehow holding onto the rod at the entrance of the compartment. This is indeed a nerve-wracking sight, seeing the struggle that people go through on daily basis travelling by the local train in the city of Mumbai.

Margaret had always been very protective about her younger sister, Leah. Like always, she wanted to make sure that her sister gets in safely and so Margaret tried to adjust herself in order to make way for Leah. Least did Margaret realize that in a matter of few seconds, her love and concern for her younger sister is going to change her life. The train started moving at a faster pace and Margaret in her effort to help Leah lost balance, slipped and fell off the moving train.

What followed was loud screams and moaning, Margaret lay on the edge of the platform all wounded and bruised. She was in pain, and she could only see darkness. She woke up after 48 hours, looked around and saw that she was laying on the hospital bed in the ICU. She could feel the pain all over her body and her head hurt too. She tried to move, but sensed some kind of numbness.

She sensed something unusual, it was getting her bothered. She called out and the nurse rushed in. Margaret seemed totally perplexed and started to solicit many questions. The nurse was silent and without wasting any time, she called the doctor. Seeing the doctor, Margaret looked at him with teary eyes and asked why she wasn’t feeling any sensation on her left side below the waist. Now this was the most devastating moment of her life when she was told that she lost her left leg, after the incident of falling off the train that Monday morning. Yes, her left leg had to be amputated. Margaret was now disabled.

Among both sisters, Margaret had always been like the son to her parents and this incident shattered the entire family. After being discharged from the hospital, all that Margaret got was sympathy and pity. The strong, bold and daring woman that Margaret had always been didn’t like being pitied.

In less than two weeks, Margaret decided that she did not want to spend the rest of her life under the wings of pity and sympathy. So she started approaching the bank with the help of some friends and well wishers, she was able to get a loan. It was difficult, but not impossible. Margaret wasn’t able to kneel, but she could pray to God to bless her with courage.

She was determined to start her own catering service. Brawny determination, consistent exigent work, stalwart will power and God’s hand upon her, led Margaret to be an Entrepreneur, who today has one of the top ten catering businesses in Mumbai.

Although Margaret went through so much pain and suffering, she was persistent. She learnt a lot after from this incident. The one thing that she believed was to make sure our faith is bigger than our fear. The occurrence of this incident taught her that no matter what your problem is, just don’t Give-up. She surrendered her life and her anxiety into the hands of the Almighty and God guided her through this unrecoverable loss.

Margaret’s story has something for each one of us. If we feel discouraged and unhappy and wonder, oh God, why me, why am I going through certain turmoil at a given time, we should think of Margaret. She never gave up, she believed that Nothing is Impossible.

We should remember at the end of the night, there’s a new day awaiting us, the rising sun brings new hope and one more beautiful day in our life.