"Adwitya" - The Little Boy

Mohini jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: “How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?”

The surgeon said, “I’m sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn’t make it.”

Mohini said, “Why do little children get cancer? Doesn’t God care anymore? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?”

The surgeon asked, “Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he’s transported to the university.”

Mohini asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good-bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick brown curly hair.

“Would you like a lock of his hair?” the nurse asked.

Mohini nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy’s hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Mohini. The mother said, “It was Adwitya’s idea to donate his body to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else. “I said no at first, but Adwitya said, ‘Maa, I won’t be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Maa.” She went on, “My Adwitya had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.”

Mohini walked out of Children’s mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Adwitya’s belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Adwitya’s belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son’s room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Mohini awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said:

“Dear Maa,

I know you’re going to miss me; but don’t think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just ’cause I’m not around to say I LOVE YOU. I will always love you, Maa, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won’t be so lonely, that’s okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn’t like the same things us boys do. You’ll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don’t be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The fairies’ are so beautiful. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Sri Krishna doesn’t look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Sri Krishna himself took me to see Brahmadev! And guess what, Maa? I got to sit on his knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That’s when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good-bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn’t allowed. Well, you know what Maa? Brahmadev handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter. I think Naradmuni is the name of the messenger of Sri Hari who is going to drop this letter off to you. Sri Krishna told me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him ‘Where was He when I needed him?’ “ Sri Krishna said He was in the same place with me. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.

Oh, by the way, Maa, no one else can see what I’ve written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn’t that cool? I have to give Brahmadev His pen back now. He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Brahmadev for Rajbhog. I’m, sure the food will be great.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don’t hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone. I’m glad because I couldn’t stand that pain anymore and God couldn’t stand to see me hurt so much, either. That’s when He sent his beautiful Fairies to come get me. The Fairies said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?

Signed with Love from: Brahmadev, Sri Krishna & Me.”