Barefooted.

Hands covered in dirt.

Old and torn clothes.

But with a smile on his face

And sparkle in his eyes,

A slum boy, presumably eight years old,

Looked towards me.

His eyes were deep and captivating.

Maybe because there were dreams

Which were too big for me to interpret.

As I was trying to understand the grandeur

Of God's creation, I found myself amidst

A group of slum children begging for pennies.

I handed each of them few coins.

But surprisingly he didn't move forward.

I looked at him with curious eyes.

And he smiled, nodded his head, as his eyes spoke -

"I'm not here to beg."

And soon he left with that same smile on his face.

I stood there and watched him walk away.

He was as needy as the rest of them but still

didn't ask for anything.

More than being curious about 'why didn't he ask', I felt guilty because I didn't move forward to give. & I realised two things that day.

First being - words aren't always necessary to converse.

And second - helping the unprivileged is the responsibility of the privileged, and being helped is their right.