complete the story a long wait for the bus -people impatient a large . crowd -a lot of confusion fact the pocket being touched -looked around caught the hand.
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THE LOST CHILD
It was a hot summer afternoon. The bus stand was
filled with a crowd eager to get on a bus and reach
their respective destinations in time. But due to an
accident on the highway, the buses were running
late. The queue for the bus was very long and I had
been standing for almost two hours now. I could
not leave the queue as it would mean relinquishing
my place and another long endless wait. Fights
had already broken out on minor issues and the
atmosphere was becoming heated and tense. In
this situation, it was hard to take notice of stray
people who had no reason to be there.
So it was luck that I was able to save my pocket
from being picked. I felt a sudden itch on my
back pocket area, I looked around and my hands
rested on a tiny hand, trying to take my wallet.
I was about to find my voice and shout but then
I suddenly stopped. The little girl’s face and
her unruly hair had stopped me from yelling. I
knew that face from somewhere, it had a striking
resemblance to someone I used to know. The little
girl had tears rolling down her face and her soft
voice was begging me not to shout. I took her
hand and left the queue immediately, there was
another pressing matter that needed my attention.
I desperately asked her about her family and her
whereabouts. It suddenly struck me that, she
resembled my cousin sister, who along with her
child, had gone missing three years ago. My heart
was beating fast and I called the little girl by her
name, Are you Swati ? Is your mother’s name
Anju ?’
The child suddenly stopped crying. She looked at
me bewildered and nodded her head. She took
me to her little shanty house in the slums nearby.
There I saw my sister lying sick on a dirty rag
on the floor. She looked at me and cried out in
disbelief, ‘How did you find me ?’
I told her about the incident and enquired about
her past. She told me of her long struggle. She was
subjected to domestic violence, which made her
flee along with her daughter. She tried to find a
job but was unable to find one and had eventually
landed on the streets. She had no hope of finding
a better future. She hugged me tightly and cried. I
sympathized with her but at the same time I was
elated to be reunited with her after a long time. I
called up her parents and gave them the happy
news.
That became one of the happiest days in my life. I
had rescued my cousin and her daughter from the
clutches of ill-fate and had given them hope for a
better future.