Hunger for Sale

The sun shone brightly over the sky. Exhausted by the scorching heat of the midday sun she decided to take rest under the shade of the huge mango tree. The toddler in her arms gazed at its magnificence. Being so thin made him resemble a skeleton and he was as pale as pure snow. Their brown unkempt curly mess was windswept. Fatigue and dehydration took hold of the little kid. Her pale eyes were searching for a drop of water that could quench her baby's thirst. But she found none. She engaged her son with the sight of chirping birds and the squirrels running by hoping that it would make him forget his weakness.

        After a couple of minutes, she was interfered by a man with a thick beard. He had a cloth bag hung to his shoulders. Her desperate eyes started seeking help from him. He ignored their weakness but requested them to sit comfortably under the shade. Diving deep into his cloth bag he took a pair of brushes, paints and canvas and began drawing their faces .It took him hours to absorb their portrait onto his canvas .He captured every minute details of them. Those sunken eyes, her weary look, the untidy curly hair and the toddler's helplessness, his thin and pale physique, everything was so detailed. When he was done with his canvas, he offered her a ten rupee note from his pocket assuring her that he would give her something on the day of the exhibition. It left a smile on her face amidst her poverty.

        Another week passed away. She came to know about the painting exhibition at the municipal town hall. The artist's assurance that he would lend them help on the day of exhibition made her decide to visit the exhibition hall. She was so optimistic about his promise. To her shock ,she was denied the entry to the hall. But she managed to get a glimpse of the painting that bagged first prize. Her soul was more delighted to know that her portrait along with her son in her arms achieved the cash prize. She remembered the words said by the artist. She recollected those golden words:" Come on the day of exhibition, I will give you something". Hoping that she would be able to feed her starving son after so many days, she decided to approach the artist. She saw him walking amidst the large crowd. He saw her but just ignored her and drove off in his car. More than his ignoring nature, she was heartbroken when the loudspeakers blared out the bitter truth. "The portrait that bagged the first prize was auctioned for a huge sum of money!". Struggling to pacify her yelling, hungry baby she witnessed with tears rolling down her cheeks, their hunger being kept for sale.