Prateeksha Jana, Class X D
Letitia Jones was home after a hard day of work, wanting nothing more than to unwind with a steaming cup of coffee and a classic novel. But that wasn’t destined to be. The minute she stepped into her dwelling, her young children, Martha and Leo, swarmed around her.
Letitia worked with the NYPD, at the sixth precinct. Putting criminals behind bars was her number one priority. Usually, she’d come home, exhausted, and her children would thankfully let her be, comprehending without words that a little peace was all she needed.
Today, it seemed there was no end to their problems.
“Mom, I scraped my knee today” or “Mom! Could you mend this for me, please?”
Letitia’s husband was still at work. He taught Psychology at the NYU. The cop and the psychologist, what an odd couple they made! But Letitia wished nothing more than her husband to be there right now, as he could handle the kids better than her.
But they were her kids, and she loved them, so she reluctantly agreed to hear them out.
* * *
Letitia often wondered what unconditional love actually meant. Now she’d finally understood.
Unconditional love was putting your requirements on standby and concentrating on the needs of the loved ones first. She loved her children unconditionally, more than they could ever measure the extent of.
Boy, was she wrong!
There was an excited call form the kitchen, “Mummy!” She ran to the kitchen fearing the worst. She was greeted with the sight of Martha and Leo, grinning like maniacs, holding out gifts to her.
And that’s when Letitia understood. She understood why she was crying. She understood why she was shaking. It’s as if the universe had righted itself suddenly – everything aligned in order. She took her gifts with trembling hands, but what was infinitely more precious to her the smile of her children.
And she knew in that moment that she wouldn’t be able to survive without this all-consuming joy, and she sealed it with the words “I love you!”
