While India was busy celebrating Children’s Day on November 14th, our souls shattered with the heartbreaking reality that you aren’t around us, around your siblings, playing with your parents, living a life you deserved! Chandini, your innocent life was cruelly ripped away from you, leaving a scar that time can never heal.
Little angel, I am sure you were a ray of light in your parent’s small, gloomy world. Your giggles and laughter would have been like the stars in their night sky, promising them a tomorrow filled with hopes and dreams. Yet, tragically, your hopeful future was stripped mercilessly, and all those little dreams shattered into a million pieces cruelly on that dreadful day in Kerala. The vacuum left by your departure can never be filled, and I want you to know that a whole world weeps for you. We sincerely apologize to you for standing helpless after what happened to you in this sick, cruel world!
Our feelings are a stormy swirl of grief, rage, and now a glimmer of hope on this Children’s Day. Grief for the terrible loss we feel without you, rage for the injustice that befell you, and hope for a future where every child’s innocence remains safeguarded and their aspirations are fulfilled without fear.
Waking up to the news of the sinister punishment with the death penalty and life imprisonment brings a momentary sense of closure or maybe a little amount of hope for justice in an unjust world. While we acknowledge that it can’t bring you back, Chandini, it will stand as an unsettling warning to those who dare to commit such horrible crimes in the future. It might be a very little step towards justice for you and the many others who suffer in silence, but that is the least we could give back to you!
We hope that somewhere in the better, peaceful, painless realms of paradise, you have found the happiness and safety that evaded you on earth. We picture you hovering over us, leading us toward a world where no other kid has to endure the horrible things you suffered. Your memory lives on, not just as a reminder of the fragility of life but also as a piercing warning to protect and safeguard the life and innocence of each and every child.
When the court declared the judgement, deep inside our hearts prayed and hoped that you’d be smiling at us somewhere far in a much better place. We hope you are surrounded by flowers and angels and the sun and stars! We hope you dance and jump around and play without the fear of being snatched away or hurt! We hope you forever feel safe and protected.
As we think of you, we are reminded that even though you are no longer physically here, the memory of you lives on. But we promise to keep fighting for a future wherein no child is forced to suffer as you did, where their aspirations are fostered, and their spirits are unbroken.
Dear angel, may you find forever happiness and joy under the wings of angels. We can never forget you, and on this Children’s Day, we genuinely hope this judgment gives at least some amount of justice to all that you went through. We are sorry we let you down, angel.
Chandini, we promise to send our love to you in the heavens above.
