- a 55-word story
They needed a chauffeur to take her to school.
“Not the young man.” said the over-cautious mother.
The father nodded sagely.
They hired the older man, who was old enough to be her grandfather. Their daughter was safe, they thought in parental wisdom.
Days later, they wondered why she was obsessed with cleaning herself repeatedly.
* * *
Please read the Avante Garde Bloggies Award winning post for Best Book Review by Kiran Rao:
Book Review: “Bitter Chocoltae – Child Sexual Abuse in India” by Pinki Virani
This gave me goose bumps Shail. There’s so much that 55 words can convey
I loved your last 55 words fiction also and I had nominated it for Avant Garde Bloggies Awards 2009, and your 55 word fiction is the Runner Up.
Congratulations.
I hope a lot more people read these… All that the parents had to do was not do what they did in the first 55er (Her Fault) and then she would have not been too afraid to tell them why she cleans herself all the time
Thank you for the Nomination of ‘Her Fault‘ and the wishes, IHM. How true, if that were not to happen it would have been easier for a child to seek help.
OMG !!! Its the old ones who are a big menace to young girls.
Very nicely written….but gives me jitters.
And, IHM, even if the girl explains herself, there are many parents who dont believe their own children.
Some of the old ones are a menace to young girls because they are trusted more by foolish/ignorant parents precisely for the very reason of their advanced years. And yes, some parents don’t even believe the child but instead, blame the victim herself for what has happened/is happening.
Perversion does not have an age
nor is it known to spare even a sage.
To save our children from such savage
we need to empower them with knowledge.
Great 55er. Hope you are well.
Knowledge, awareness and communication. But I think the lessons should start with parents, it is they who seem to need it more. Can you imagine parents who leave a 5 year old girl child with a man-servant while they attend parties, especially when the child cries and begs not to be left with him??! What do you do with such parents??
Thanks Govind. I am better now.
Extremely chilling!
It is, isn’t it??
This is spine chilling because its so highly plausible .
Parents need to be aware about the threats and make even young children learn to have “threat perceptions”.Its a big bad ugly world for unattended kids.
Every time I read about cases of CSA or a rape , I feel so damn sick…..
I feel , we the sane lot of the world has a responsibility towards making kids around us safe by making them aware /educate them /prevent them from potential threats.
It is highly plausible, yes. Parents need to be aware and the communication lines with the children should be open. And its not only girls, even boys are at the receiving end. I despair to hear parents say that someone or other has sons and so its easier for them to leave them alone or with relatives or even strangers. How dense can people be!!!
How terrible.. happens everywhere.. love the way you captured it in just 55 words.
Yes Pal, sad as it is, it does happen.
Sad, sad.. Very very sad!
It is sad Tamanna
Let us not judge any one by age. Oldies could be a serious problem.
This is NOT an indictment of ‘age’ but about abuse of children and the ignorance/negligence/lack of awareness of parents. Like Govind says above, there is no age for perversion. But there is one thing, older men are certainly trusted more, foolishly so, by some parents. So I am definitely pointing fingers, not at oldies, but at the stupidity of such parents as in my story, who are paranoid when it comes to young males but blind to what gray hair and wrinkles can be up to.
Besides this is a story (real or imagined) and the intention is to narrate and create awareness, NOT judge.
Thank you for your comment.
That was extremely well-worded Shail. Sent a chill up my spine. CSA exists principally because of parents’ attitude in the first place. Igonrance, cover-up and worst of all, blaming the child for what happened – each one of these are tools which the abuser takes advantage of. Some serious awakening is required if CSA is to be thwarted – one which throws our concepts of “taboo” out the window.
Welcome to Shail’s Nest Kiran and thank you. This matter of cover up and blaming the child bothers me a lot. People (and society as a whole) are more concerned about ‘what others might think rather than the welfare of the victim (a child for God’s sake) and the punishment of the adult (who in most cases is someone known/trusted/in authority). Yes, our concepts of taboo must surely go out of the window to deal effectively with CSA.
I am glad to have chanced upon your book review. That was a good one. Congrats for the Avant Garde Bloggies Award.
it’s disturbing..
the other day, a friend from mysore was telling me about her 3 yr old son’s bitter ordeal at the hands of the school bus driver.
she took it up, talked to the school authorities, who were shockingly passive, as it was not a school sponsored service.
my friend got the contact numbers of teh parents of all the other kids who use the bus service, and talked to each one of them personally.
one father was apparently saying, “but that’s the only bus service around this place”
!!!
one of the parents was a lawyer with police connections, so they caught the driver n bashed him up black n blue, but let him off without any charges as their argument was that it would make him a hardcore criminal.
yeah right! as if he wasn’t one already!
he still operates the bus service for school kids.
on a totally different note: shail, loved the posts at the kathasagar contest!
OMG I don’t believe this. Make him a criminal?? is he not one when he abuses 3-year olds??! And he still operates bus service for kids!! And the reaction of “but that’s the only bus service around this place” is even more shocking. Like I wrote in my reply to Govind above, I was shocked by parents who took lightly their five-year old daughter’s plea not to be left alone with the man-servant. I bet those parents too would have said, ‘but who else can we leave our daughter with??’ or something of the sort.
Thanks about the Kathasagar posts!
In recent times, local newspaper comes out with similar stories like …. 10yr boy was raped by 50+ man in mosque washroom. 5yr old girl molested by a 22yrs old quran teacher. No, I am not saying anything about religion or something here. I can’t imagine what goes on in those perverts mind.
As you said we should create awareness.
Creating awareness and keeping communication lines open with children is also necessary.
What a powerful story in 55 words! nd it happens to so many in this world of ours..
there may be no age bar but as you said, one has to educate the parents first… a child needs protection until he/she is capable of taking care of oneself.
Yes, happy Kitten, parents have to be more watchful and also be in communication with and supportive of children at all times.
This fiction is so real. Its just so sad to see well educated, ignorant parents even today. Sometimes, I wonder if I should have a chat with them. But my husband tell me to “mind my own business”
I know what you mean. Now I regret not having said anything to the parents (my comment in reply to Govind) who left the girl home alone with the man-servant when the little girl obviously didn’t want to be so left. But I myself was young then and was unsure if I would be right in saying something. I have never been able to forget it though.
You have expressed everything so clearly within the 55 words, Shail.
When I was working, I used to go by crowded buses. I and my friends have experienced ‘bad touch’ by older men than younger men. So I advice young children to be more careful with older men.
Sandhya, I have been there too. Once when I turned around in a bus when this happened, I found an old man, white hair and all, and asked in anger, ‘Can’t you keep your bloody hands to yourself??” My parents tried to reason with me that I could have been mistaken, that he was an old man. As if age by itself makes humans above reproach.
And congrats for the award. I too had voted for ‘Her fault’. That story also was told very nicely/clearly.
Thanks Sandhya, for the vote and the wishes
This is the stark reality. Many parents would not believe what their children told them, especially if the person concerned was in their eyes, a mature older man. And the poor little ones are the most vulnerable, without anyone they can turn to. All because, for our society, and other places too, CSA is something we sweep under the carpet, and not discuss or imagine, would happen in our homes.
Also many times, the child undergoes CSA at the hands of very close relatives, friends, neighbours, whom the parents feel they simply cannot suspect or even blame! At a CME on Child Friendly School Initiative that some of us had attended a few years back, we were given insights into this problem by Tulir, an NGO that works with children abused this way. The stories are heart wrenching, and make one so angry.
And still we have one year olds, two year olds abused here. The older ones dont stand a chance.
Warm wishes and congratulations on the Avant Garde Award.
Sadly so ‘izzat’ or ‘honor’ is given more importance and hence the sweeping under the carpet. It IS heart-wrenching.
Thanks for the wishes on the award
Disturbing and so so true. Congratulations for winning the Katha Sagar competion. You are one awesome story teller – the tales touch a chord inside
Yes it is disturbing Ritu.
…and thanks!!
Check this out
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=32&uid=114825211861459
Well, I am bowled over!
Thanks once again Ritu.
you said something thats a bitter reality in this world these days!
Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for dropping by Sorcerer.
u know I believe the older ones are more dangerous…cuz they have this cloak of “being father’s/grandfather’s age”
Exactly my point Reema. Thanks.
Gave me the chills Shail.
Your best 55er yet. And a horrific reality.
Horrific is right Indy.
Even though it sounds horrific it happens . Uncles and acquaintances ..Hmm… Reality .
Most of them time parents are ignorant to this . That is the sad part . They think their kids are safe .
Stumbled up on your from Pal’s crocodile tears . Count me in !
Welcome to Shail’s Nest Aswathy. Very true, some parents erroneously think their kids are safe which is really very sad.
@Shail, Ah , Shail , this was my first comment .
But when I read this after a year , I had to come across even more incidents in the same lines . How sad isn’t it
and almost every mother I know who have small kids are scared to their bones .
With vacation around , we have to think on every aspect before sending the child any where . Mothers who are usually calm and sensible are turning into obsessive monsters . And no one can blame them.
hie! u write great 55ers but i loved this one particularly. good work
@sarah,
Thanks.
There are certain subjects which need great deal of passion, much greater than others when you write about them. To me personally, in such matters, words just fail to come out because it connects with some painful memory or the other. YOu have such a gift to be able to write about it with passion and simplicity.
@Anita Menon,
Thank you Anita. Sometimes people accuse me of being too ‘shockingly real’ (‘You are cruel’ someone told me once) in what I write.
But for Anita Menon’s comment, prominently displayed on your home page, I wouldn’t have read this old post. I became a reader of your blog long after this was posted.
Now I wish I hadn’t read this post. It disturbed me deeply.
Your 55 powerful words brought a sick feeling to my stomach.
I said to myself “What the Hell! This aged pervert was giving our entire generation a bad name.”
Govind’s comment was comforting.
Perversion has no age.
I felt better after reading Govind’s comment.
Paedophiles are absolutely disgusting.
I wish they never existed, or some way is found to identify all of them and simply exterminate them mercilessly.
Regards
GV
@G Vishwanath,
It is a disturbing scenario and pedophiles make me gag. I cannot think of forgiving anyone who takes advantage of children. They need to be put away.
There was a news item recently where a mother took advantage of her six year old daughter, even making videos of her. She has got a sentence of 15 years. Her children have been taken away from her.
Just as I have told a commentator above, it is not about old men at all. It is about parents who wrongly trust older people around their children while being over-cautious about younger ones. That is the point I wanted to stress.
OMG!! chilling..sadly,its one of the harsh realities of today!
very well written,Shail!
@Suburban Mumma,
Welcome to Shail’s Nest and thank you. Yes, it is a chilling scenario.
MY GAWD ! This actually sent shivers down my spine . Made me retch .
@Kislay Chandra,
Sorry about that. But some things do that to us and this is one of them.
My first time here and must say, I am bitterly disturbed by your powerful writing. Gave me goosebumps.
Keep it up.
@Nisha,
Welcome to Shail’s Nest and thank you
It is a disturbing fact indeed, which needs as much awareness as possible.
Chilling Shail and so true .
@Eveslungs,
It is always shocking to the core.
Welcome to Shail’s Nest.
That was very powerfully written, Shail. And these things happen…they are more common than we imagine them to be. When will this perversion end?!
@Writerzblock,
Yes, more common than we dare admit. Ignorance., lack of awareness etc becomes the fodder for perverts.
Sick to my stomach. An acquaintance told me gleefully that she had managed to finally wean her 2 year old baby by making her sleep in the living room with the male servant next to her. I almost threw up.
@starry eyed,
OMG Starry, I am shocked at the ignorance of the woman! Unbelievable! This only reinforces my belief that you need a license to become parents.
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