some soul-filling moments

A never-ending list of all the soul-filling moments I shared with the boys of Bal Ashram

• I had a strand of hair on my face while talking to a group of boys and then one of them gently brushed the piece of hair away from my face as I continued to speak. He was so gentle and nonchalant about it 🥺

• Two boys wanted to talk to me alone about everything life-related. We sat for literally an hour and a half chatting about their crushes, feelings of loneliness, their past, their families, etc. It was a soul-filling moment because they trusted me enough to share their stories with me. 

• There are two biological brothers who stay at the Ashram together. One is probably 17 or 18 years old and the other is maybe 13 or 14. The younger one, "D", I met and bonded with back in January. The older one, "A", I never spoke to in January because he was always too shy or didn't want to approach me. This time, though, "A" felt comfortable enough to talk to me and we actually ended up bonding A LOT. Both of the brothers ended up making me bracelets to wear in remembrance of them and they personally tied those bracelets around my wrist. I adore these two so much because there is something so pure and kind about them despite their tumultuous backgrounds. 

• They're secretly protective of me 🥺 One of the little kids was scaring me by capturing a bee in a flower and then he wanted to open the flower and release the bee in front of my face. I hate bugs, so I was irked and ran from him. The kid followed. Then, an older kid saw this instance and just took the flower from the little kid and released the bee. The older one then turned to the younger one and gently said, "Don't do that. She doesn't like it." 

• Three of the boys and I went on an hour long walk on my last day. We chatted about things like their parents and homes to songs that we love (Kya Baat Ay is my favorite and they introduced me to Apna Bana Le) to discrimination in schools, and much more. I found that just having conversations, despite the language barrier, with these boys is the BEST part because it makes them feel like an equal when we talk about all sorts of things.