no-longer-a-slumdog

No Longer a Slumdog
My mother enrolled me in a Bridge of Hope
center, but I was not very interested in my studies. I
preferred to play and go out at night.
One day my mother said to me, “Nadish, you
need to pay attention to your studies!” This made me
angry.
I went out that afternoon to buy some medicine
for my mother. I was still unhappy and did not want
to go home, so I wandered around for a little while. I
got lost near the rail station. The sun went down, and
I began to get scared. I didn’t recognize this place.
A nice-looking older man came by and saw that
I was lost, so he offered to let me stay with him for the
night.
I wish I had not gone with him.
He took me to a place far away, and before I realized
what was happening, he sold me to a landlord.
The landlord forced me to clean up animal manure
all day, and when I was done, he would lock me
in a small room with the animals. I soon learned to
ignore the smell.
Days turned into weeks, and my stomach would
continually growl. He never gave me enough to eat.
Weeks turned into months, and my body would
ache. The work was hard, and there was never enough
time to rest.
Months turned into years, and I began to think
that this would never end. I was trapped, alone,
locked in this dark place with the other animals.
Then one day something strange happened. There
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