‘Mum, what’s for lunch?’ asked Luke. ‘I’m hungry.’
‘Me too,’ Fida said in support.
Alya looked at her two children and said softly, ‘It’s brown rice with vegetables.’
Luke and Fida both frowned. They stared at each other. Luke said, ‘We don’t think we’re hungry any more, Mum.’
Alya was angry. She scowled at her children. ‘Why do you prefer fast food? Don’t you know that vegetables are protective food?’ She kept serving the lunch. ‘Go and wash your hands now!’ she yelled.
Fida and Luke saw rage in their mother’s eyes. Without a word, they slowly moved towards the washbasin, washed their hands, and then headed to the dining table. They stared at the food on the table for a while, and then at each other, before eventually starting to eat, slowly and lazily.
‘For God’s sake, give some respect for the food,’ Alya said angrily. She realised that there was no use arguing with the children, however. She decided to tell them a story.
Putting her hand around Fida’s shoulder, Alya said, ‘Once when I was visiting Mumbai, I felt pity for some children who were begging for food.
‘A few of them were eating from a waste bin kept at the back of a restaurant. I noticed a girl about eleven years old holding a boy half her age, going towards the bin. He was crying out of hunger. The girl put her hand in the bin to get some food.
‘She seemed happy to get something. Afterwards they both sat in a corner just behind where I was standing. I could see pure joy in their faces.
‘My heart ached when I saw the food. It was covered with mud. The young girl was removing the mud and feeding her little brother. There was no rejection or refusal. The boy ate the food with great respect.’
‘What about their parents, Mama?’ asked Fida in agony.
Alya took a deep breath and continued. ‘I went up to the children and greeted them. They looked at me in wonder. I handed them some money and asked about their parents.
‘The girl said, “Ma’am, most children here have parents, but they are sick. In our case, it is different.”
‘She remained silent for a while. I could see tension on her face. Tears filled her eyes. “God punished us,” she said finally, softly.
‘“I am sorry,” I said back to her, with a broken heart.
‘I stroked her back and said, “Good and bad times will be there in everyone’s life. You too will have a happy life. Don’t feel disappointed, dear.”
‘“No, ma’am,” she said and shook her head.
‘“I … I had hope once, but … but … I have lost it. God … God punished us because of our rude behaviour,” the little girl whimpered.
‘“What! Why do you say that?” I asked agape.
‘The girl said, “Ma’am, my mother was very kind and beautiful. She always made healthy and delicious food for us. But my brother and I always created problems because we loved to have fast food.
‘Swallowing the pain bubbling in her throat, she continued, “Ma’am, I still remember once … my brother got a small stone from the rice. The next moment he turned the whole house upside down.
‘She looked at her brother and said with a sad smile, “Now we have no clean plate, no healthy food. My brother gets lots and lots of stones from the food. But he never says anything. We received severe punishment from God. We … we have no regrets because we know we deserve it. And we always ask for forgiveness to our God.
‘She wiped her tears with her hand at this point and said, “We have only one wish to God … that is, I … I … I mean we … we just want to tell our mother how sorry we are and that we miss her a lot, and … and …” Tears rushed out. “Oh God! I love her so much. It … really hurts.”
Alya continued, ‘My heart too was aching. Tears filled my eyes. Just then I heard a soft and painful voice and turned around. It was the boy.
‘“Ma’am, the time I had healthy food, I never thought of God or cared about the trouble my mother went through to make that food. But now, each time we get food, we think about our mother painfully and thank God for giving it to us. But ma’am, I am lucky to have a great sister. And … and I promise I … I will never turn my face away from food again because I am afraid of another punishment from God. I don’t want to lose my sister.” Saying this, he wiped his tears with a painful smile.’
Fida and Luke sat stunned. They stared at their mother with aching hearts.
Alya said, ‘Remember, there are many people all over the world dying of hunger. Do you want to be one of them?’
Fida and Luke were both puzzled and surprised by her question. Their heads jerked up and their hands froze.
‘No!’ responded both of them in unison.
They remained silent for a while, and then said, ‘We are sorry, mum. We … we promise we will never trouble you, nor create any problem.’
They started eating their food with a lot of respect.
Amin, their father, walked in. ‘What’s for lunch? I’m hungry.’
Seeing his children eating he said, ‘Oh no! It’s vegetarian! No fish?’
Alya scowled at him. He immediately pretended to be serious and said sternly, ‘Just vegetables – no fish and no chicken – because it’s protective food.’ He gave her a foolish smile.
‘Papa, can you take me to Mumbai?’ Luke asked his father very politely.
‘Why?’ asked Amin in surprise.
‘I want to give this food to some needy children.’
Surprised, Amin asked in a puzzled tone, ‘Bahrain to Mumbai … five hours in a plane … just to give your food to needy people?’
Amin smiled to himself and then turned to Alya. ‘Did you deliver a lecture by any chance?’
‘Yes, I did,’ Alya said with a sweet smile.
‘Whichever it was,’ he said, ‘it worked.’
‘Thank you,’ Alya said with a shrug.
‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,’ Amin said with a mysterious smile.
‘Why do you say that?’ Alya asked casually.
Amin grinned.
‘The food may cost five rupees but going to Mumbai will cost about 50,000.’
They both laughed at that.
Alya took Luke in her arm. ‘Oh dear, it’s not just in Mumbai where there are starving children; you can find such children all over the world. All you have to do is respect your food, see that your family has enough food, and then your neighbour.’ She kissed his cheeks.
Immediately, Fida got up from the table and went into the kitchen. Alya looked at her in wonder and asked, ‘What’s wrong, dear? Can I get you some more?’
‘No, Mama, I have had enough. I just wanted to make sure that there is enough food left for you.’
Alya wanted to hug Fida. ‘I have great children,’ Alya said.
Amin corrected her immediately: ‘We have great children.’ He gave his wife a broad smile.
They both laughed.