Just before the boy falls asleep in his little crib, the wife and I lie down in our bed, both of us tired out from the day's exertions. We like to have a brief chat as we wind down. Today, though, the wife starts to talk about Madeleine McCann, a three-year old girl snatched from a hotel bedroom in the Algarve as she slept.
She has been following the case with agitated fury. The irresponsibility of the McCanns drives her apoplectic. But, as parents, we feel the depth of their despair. How can anyone bear a kidnapping of a child? The very thought of it paralyses me. I don't want to think about it at all. Little Madeleine is in the depths of an incomprehensible hell. Try as I might, I can't drag my mind away from thoughts of her. I can't sleep. I tell the wife that I really don't want to discuss this. She thinks I am hiding from the truth - this world is not really safe, and it is better to be forewarned and watchful. But that's not it at all. I can feel Madeleine's horror; I am suffocating, my heart races, my mind is in turmoil, anguish consumes me. It is too hard to explain, too exhausting to discuss. What is to become of that toddler? Who can she turn to in her agony and fear? Will she be found? Will she be safe? Is her life ebbing away in tortured misery?
I can't sleep. I am sweating. How now do I dismiss the darkness from my mind?
She has been following the case with agitated fury. The irresponsibility of the McCanns drives her apoplectic. But, as parents, we feel the depth of their despair. How can anyone bear a kidnapping of a child? The very thought of it paralyses me. I don't want to think about it at all. Little Madeleine is in the depths of an incomprehensible hell. Try as I might, I can't drag my mind away from thoughts of her. I can't sleep. I tell the wife that I really don't want to discuss this. She thinks I am hiding from the truth - this world is not really safe, and it is better to be forewarned and watchful. But that's not it at all. I can feel Madeleine's horror; I am suffocating, my heart races, my mind is in turmoil, anguish consumes me. It is too hard to explain, too exhausting to discuss. What is to become of that toddler? Who can she turn to in her agony and fear? Will she be found? Will she be safe? Is her life ebbing away in tortured misery?
I can't sleep. I am sweating. How now do I dismiss the darkness from my mind?
2 comments:
This kidnapping will pale against the Nithari killings in Noida which took the lives of countless children who lived in slums. When the news was reported, the whole nation was shaken and ashamed that so much had been allowed to happen already. I feel enraged and helpless; my heart goes out to those small innocents whose cries went unheard. And I think I am fortunate.
..since its quite a while since ..whats the current status
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