Saturday, July 10, 2010

Wish

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 12; the twelfth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.


They met while on a cruise over the Bahamas, fell in love head over heels at first sight and he lost no time in proposing to her. They had the most celebrated wedding soon thereafter, again, on a cruise ship followed by their first honeymoon, of course on the cruise ship!
Clarisse and Armand in their mid-thirties were on a holiday independently from a busy corporate life when they first met on the ship. Clarisse is a corporate accountant in an IT company and Armand, a corporate chef in a five-star hotel, both in Macau. Till they met for what turned out to be a fairy tale-whirlwind romance, they were wedded to their profession with vaulting ambitions to grow in their careers and had no time even for romance let alone a marriage.
Strangely after their cruise wedding, they were in a hurry to have an angel to complete their perfect married life. They wished to have a baby soon as she was already in mid thirties but were not blessed with a child despite the many outings on romantic cruises.
“Honey, this will be the last time we're gonna go on a cruise,” Clarisse told Armand emphatically while they were packing. “I have failed you in giving you a child even after two years”, she added, almost teary-eyed. But Armand hugging her pacified her as he said “No honey, don’t lose heart. Let us be positive and hope for the best. Maybe, we're just stressed and pressured from anxiety and our official work; I think God will bless us with a child very soon.”
This time the trip on cruise did not excite her any more as the first few ones did. When she saw young women with babies in their arms or in the strollers, she became depressed. She preferred to stay inside the cabin and demurred when Armand called her to come out to the attractive events and places in the ship. The days moved on slowly for her. It was on the fourth day, the ship had a port call at Cozumel, Mexico. Armand encouraged Clarisse to take island hopping and she accepted the offer with alacrity wanting to get out of the cloistered feeling.
Passing through the lanes dotted with various souvenir shops, they bought pieces of souvenirs that caught Clarisse' fancy. There was a fortune teller's stall on the curve promising accurate predictions. Unable to resist the temptation to know their future, Armand pulled Clarisse inside the small booth. Bedecked in multi-colored clothes and various strands of beads on her neck, there was a dignified aura around the fortune teller. Her eyes were sharp and inquisitive as if she could read their minds. They sat before her deferentially and listened intently to the fortune-teller’s prophecy.
“I know your burden and what weighs in your mind”, the fortune teller spoke as she looked at Clarisse. “You both have good hearts and would be wonderful parents to a child needing a home. It would soon come your way, pray do not refuse her, take her and she will give you the joy and happiness you were longing for”, she continued.
The young couple was wonderstruck how the clairvoyant could read their minds with such precision and provide an answer to the question tormenting their minds. Perhaps they were not destined to have a baby of their own and the woman opened their eyes to the chance awaiting them. They both suddenly looked at each other in a quizzical way even as Armand squeezed Clarisse' hand and the latter acknowledged it.
After embarkation with three days more on cruise, the PA system announced that there was a lost child aged more than a year old and nobody has claimed her since she was found crying at the pool deck. Armand and Clarisse ran to the HR and saw a cute little girl looking at them eagerly. They lost no time to offer themselves to be the child’s foster parents till the real parents claimed her. When no one came claiming the child, the cruise director took their details and readily agreed after satisfying himself at their credentials as the child needed immediately somebody’s care and attention.
As Clarisse lifted the child in her arms, the little angel smiled at her innocently welling up in Clarisse’ heart the unknown but thrilling feelings of a mother’s love. The tiny girl found instant comfort in her arms and giggled as if Clarisse was her mom. She looked angelic, curly brown hair and with big round Mexican blue eyes.
They both rushed to the various shops in the ship’s Promenade, buying frantically clothes and toys for the child.
But Clarisse always had a nagging fear that someone would come later and claim the child back, and this fear did not leave her so easily. She had grown so much attached to the angel and she shuddered at the possibility. Luckily there was no such claim and they lived happily with the baby. She employed a help to take care of the child when she was away at work.
As Clarisse and Armand were watching the CNN news with the baby in her lap one late evening, they saw a woman who claimed that she had intentionally abandoned her baby at the pool deck due to extreme poverty, psychological incapacity, and her single parent status. She felt that the child would find a safe haven from among some rich passengers in the ship and expressed her thanks for anyone who found her baby and gave her a good home. She also assured that she harbored no intention to claim back the child from its comfortable environs.
Clarisse was in tears as she gratefully remembered the fortune teller and God for His blessing. They christened the girl Angela, an angel from heaven who made their wish come true.
“I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much”, muttered Clarisse silently with sheer joy in her heart. 




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Written for Blog-a-Ton
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33 comments:

  1. Dear Amity,
    NAMASTE!
    Good Morning!
    Today morning I thought of you and when I opened my gmail,I saw your comment.:)Long live!
    I loved the image a lot!You have woven abeautiful story,dear!
    The anxiety,the hopes and expectations are expressed so well.
    Let the angels rule the hearts and the world they create for us is beautiful.
    Wishing you happy viewing of FIFA finals,
    Sasneham,
    Anu

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  2. Beautifully narrated, nice flow and a poignant story.
    Quite enjoyed reading it.

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  3. Hello Dear,

    This is my first time at your blog. I came via Anu's blog. I love making new friends and always willing to learn frm their experince in life. I would love to be your friends.

    I also enjoy reading your blog.

    Love
    Sunshine

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  4. heyyy dearrie...readin u after a long tyme..n dis was jus awsum..such a b'ful narration..lovly dear..loved the flow..tc..miss ya..!!!

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  5. beautifully narrated and conceptualized story... very touching and it kept me glued to the end.. well done.. all the best...

    Cheers!
    Tavish

    P.S. Just wanted to let you know while commenting on my post, you mistakenly addressed me as Gyanban. :)

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  6. A wonderful post Amity, excellently written.
    I shall bypass the Football but hope Spain wins as I used to live there and still have a son there.

    Enjoy your week=end;
    Yvonne.

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  7. Amity,
    Moving.
    "I just wish that He din't trust me so much."
    So much meaning and emotions in those words.

    fit so rightly into the topic's theme.

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  8. What a sweet, sweet story Amity. I love a happy ending! You have a wonderful imagination. Although I get the feeling that you had been on a cruise to Cozumel, I have too!
    Thank you for your comment on my post. I understand how you feel as my husband is only home four days a month. Most of the time I feel like a single mom. It's not an easy lifestyle but one that you just get used to. Love can carry us through many things! I am happy to hear that your daughter is feeling better, you are a good mom! Love Di ♥

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  9. An absolutely delicious write! Very touching..I cruised thro the story..really..

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  10. Wonderful story of compassion and love towards a lost child narrated so well.Amity,you are a great story teller.

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  11. “I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much”

    Wow! What a way to wish.. Impressed man. Good concept :-)

    I wish you a good luck for BATOM - 12

    Saravana Kumar - Wish

    Yours Frendly,
    Saravana Kumar M

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  12. Thank you for the encouragement in your comment at my blog. I can tell you understand these struggles. May our lives be struggle free, or least only small struggles. Your site is lovely. I like the changes. Very uplifting.

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  13. Lovely story-what i liked best was the way you have given a very cheerful and optimistic twist to the quote at the end-very positive.

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  14. i have always drowned in your words and in this beautiful array I am lost again - absolutely a pleasure to read you every time!

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  15. beautiful.....luvd it...wish ya luck! :)

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  16. O dearest Amity,

    I'm so so touched with this wonderful loving story.

    Isolation,Temptations, Hesitaions, Attraction...Peddles of Emotions...Stirring the Soul into a Hue of Joy witha flash of Angel!!

    Every thing from first line to the last quote to the middle rhyme...was to apt and perfectly interwoven giving meaning to life and value to claim the Wish!


    Well done...so proud of U :))

    Luv yeah!!
    ~ Keep the Spark ALive..

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  17. i liked this .. very encouraging and heart touching !

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  18. Very well written :)
    Short, simple and sweet!
    Best wishes for BAT12!

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  19. Hey Amity, a wonderful post.. Just loved the flow and use of language.. beautiful english i must say..
    As for the story, its so simple but yet so beautiful.. keep participating :)

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  20. this was good for sure!!!
    i like international plots and u have cruise ships, macau and even mexico..
    and fortune tellers too..
    good one!
    best wishes for BAT12

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  21. Amity, That's a touching story narrated with excellence. I totally enjoyed reading it. :)

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  22. Hey thats a beautiful story...but I wish you had touched on the emotions a bit more...

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  23. Beautiful story, Amity!!
    I so hope God gives everyone a channel to fulfill their wishes.
    Loved it.

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  24. I must admit we are in the same boat as Armand and Clarisse. I wish life would have been as fairy as this story.
    But it touched me.
    Keep writing.

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  25. Hey Amity,
    firstly I must thank you for visiting my blog and leavinf such motivating words of apprecaition for me.
    And thanks for inviting me to read your blog. I must say that this is a pleasant discovery of such a beautiful blog. You are a very lucid writer and this story was utterly binding.
    I liked the way you enumerated the longing in her heart for a baby and the attachment for angela.
    Very touching!

    Gr8 job! ATB for BAT-12

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  26. Wow...amity... the story was brilliantly crafter... splendid!!!

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  27. hi amity, such a lovely post! a very wonderful read indeed

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  28. Excellent :D I love it, it been very interesting to read this story, thank for sharing=D

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  29. Dear Amity,

    The narration of the story.. and the sentiments within were beautiful!

    Loved it!

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  30. I like the no-drama take on an important and realistic issue. I'd like to see a bit more mystery. For example during the newscast I was wondering what next....so perhaps a bit more of that :)
    I'm an amateur at writing so please feel free to dish out your thoughts as well.

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