The A Word

The Boy on the Train.

Hands clasped tightly around his mother’s; Little John climbed aboard. His first train journey and he was over the moon excited. His smile grew wider as he saw big grins on his parents’ faces. ‘Yay, a family trip!’ He thought to himself before settling down in his seat. Thirsty, Little John asked for some water. The father passed him a small bottle with his favorite drink in it.

The little boy drank it within a few gulps. “Boy, you are thirsty!” His father chuckled and Little John smiled shyly. As the beaming sun elevated the temperature, the boy was getting tired. Soon, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. “It’s okay, my baby.” His mother gently parted his hair, caressing his forehead. “Close your eyes and go to sleep, my tired prince!” The boy smiled, embracing his mother’s love, before falling into a quick but deep slumber.

Little John woke up with a headache; something he knew nothing about. He got up, holding his head in pain, and found an emptiness settle in. He looked everywhere but his parents were nowhere to be found. He waited. And waited some more.

Little John was no longer little.

The End of Her.

Call it a crush or an infatuation or love. Labels didn’t matter for she let her heart feel; making her soul soar through the sky, cruising among the clouds.

She blinked.

The teen stood rooted, heartbroken; tears flowing down her cheeks, She watched him walk away. Just like water or sand, the reason for her to believe anymore Slipped through her fingers.

She blinked.

Her heart had no say anymore.

Amidst the Grey, Finding Meaning.

The old man, with kind hazel eyes, looked around The gaggle of faces with Wrinkles of similar stories. Stories of agony and heartache.

They welcomed him Home; All he had to do now was to connect the homely dots to his heart. Despite everything, he waited for his son To return one day and take him to where he belonged. And, he kept waiting.

The Silver Fox no longer believed in humanity.

A Lost Battle.

The puppy was whisked into a car, creating a sinister atmosphere. She barked and whimpered but her cries Fell on deaf ears for she was already speeding away From the family she loved. The family she longed to be with.

She found many lost souls around her; Trying to cheer her up with their buried stories of pain. She was happy enough with them, but never the most. A piece of her heart was beating someplace else, Her soul crying in anguish for solace, for love. She kept waiting to be taken back to home, to safety. But the more she waited, the more she Lost herself.

She didn’t wag her tail anymore.

The Lonely Moon.

A sensitive soul experienced something She had never before: a soul crushing depression. Disguised as her friend, she came Face to face with Darkness. Her friend left her, breaking her heart; Her will to trust when the Friend walked away; Giving no reason, no rhyme.

She became the moon, always in a new phase; Waiting for peace, for her Sun.

She could no longer let go.

Each story had one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb. The word started with the letter A, the very first alphabet of the English language.

Is it A for Asshole? Well, the people who made the protagonists feel bad certainly were.

Is it A for Adorable? The main characters of the story did think certain people were quite adorable once or twice in their lives.

Is it A for Ashes? It’s from those burning ashes that the survivors arose and breathed a fire.

Or is it A for Agony? Yes, agony became a part of their lives.

It’s A for Abandonment and along with that word came Issues. Everyone, once in her/his life, faces the brutal misery of being left by someone who they thought would always stay.

Little John, abandoned by his own parents. The young girl, abandoned by her first boyfriend. The Silver Fox, abandoned by his own son. The puppy, abandoned by her adopted family. The Lonely Moon, abandoned by everyone.

You don’t know what a person is going or has gone through in their life. And being abandoned by someone they loved and longed for their love is one of the worst feelings and experiences a living being has to go through.

So, if you know someone who has been abandoned, be kind to them. And if you’re the one who has been left and walked away on, why not be kind to yourself and your heart? After all, hasn’t your soul suffered enough?