Swansong For Beatrice Balaratnarajah
View(s):You know, last night I felt I had to write this story, Beatrice beamed at us as she took her seat round the tables where we, the English Writers Workshop aka the Wadiya Group, sat at our regular month-end meeting on the 28th of March 2015.
I got a strong feeling that I should come and read it at this meeting.
And, when her turn came, she did.
From Pauper to Princess
A very simple story; childlike. Written for a child. By a child?
I am younger than she but am jaded; cynical. And quite judgmental about style. I found it almost too simple. A stray kitten, Pauper; adopted; fed and cared for; turned into Princess.
And then her voice changed, her tone, always earnest, took on a vibrant timbre.
She read:
“…As I stood and looked at this little life transformed, I felt hope arising in my heart! I realised that no one was beyond restoration. No life is too broken or too stained to be made new again and it does not matter how many times we slip and fall in the process. There is hope for everyone. No one can have too much love! I am sure now that any pauper can become a princess – or a prince.
Everyone felt the intensity. All were touched. Our faces showed that. Shaken, I said, when it was my turn to comment, It’s the last paragraph that lifts this story from the commonplace to the profound.
She nodded. You know, I had to give this message, that is why I came.
Later, when I heard you went home from the meeting, happy, and died in your spouse’s arms, I thought: you good and faithful servant; you heard the call and answered.
-Lil
Creating art that could mean anything to anyone