Strange buildings rose up around Minal as she ran. With every pump of her legs, every breath she would take, and every glance behind her shoulder she knew she was getting farther away from everything she’d ever known. She was so glad. Freedom coursed through her veins as the wind whipped her hair from her face. She would never go back home, for the streets offered so much more.
Her run slowed to a jog, and then to a walk as she examined her brand new world; all hers to explore. She smelled amazing street food, saw colorful wares sold from every store, and so many people. Most of those who passed around her hardly gave a second glance, except for one group of men who watched her like a hawk. Sensing danger, Minal turned and walked in a different, more crowded direction in the hopes of finding a safe area. It didn’t take long for her to feel secure walking near groups of people. However, it was starting to get late and Minal didn’t have a place to sleep. ‘Where do the kids already out here sleep?’ She thought.
Glancing around, she saw a boy near her age slip into a small alleyway. People around her slowly drifted home or to a local hostel, and so she went to follow. Reaching the mouth of the side street, she was about to go in, before a large hand grabbed her upper arm. She screamed, not only from the pain but from fear and the hope that someone would hear her. “This one’s nice.” One man said to the other, smiling.
“Let’s just hope she won’t be too much trouble for the cabin restaurant to handle.” The other answered, examining Minal up and down. Fear filled Minal and she tried to rip her arm out of the man’s grasp but only ended up hurting herself. His grip was like iron. Her future of freedom on the streets was about to be cut far too short. She screamed once more in desperation, before the other man’s hand came across her face, hard. Minal whimpered, but this was nothing she hadn’t experienced before. She had all but resigned herself to being sold to the highest bidder before the boy she had seen earlier came running out of the alleyway, stick in hand and 8 street kids behind him. With a guttural yell, he and his friends charged, hitting the men with whatever they found on the streets. Minal kicked the man who was holding her in the shin, and his grip loosened.
The men, outnumbered and without anything to protect themselves dropped Minal and ran. The kids jeered, throwing insults at the men before turning to the girl they had rescued. Minal stood in front of the group of children, not knowing what to say except,“Thank you.” The boy from before came up to her, examining her up and down.
“Being a girl on the streets is dangerous.” He said to her, tugging her hair lightly. Minal stayed quiet, watching the boy as carefully as he was watching her. “You can stay with us, only for the night. We’ll keep you safe, but we can’t feed another mouth. You understand?” She nodded and smiled. She had no fear around these street kids. Minal really believed they could keep her safe.
Waking up to the sun shining on her face, Minal sat up from her cardboard mat and stretched her aching muscles. Surrounded by the kids who were kind enough to let her into their sanctuary for the night, but not wanting to overstay her welcome she stood to leave. Before she dipped out the door, she looked at the lead boy. He was right, being a girl on the streets was dangerous, but for a boy, the danger lessened. An idea came to mind and Minal went out into the streets of Kathmandu on the hunt for something sharp. Lying in a gutter, a broken mirror provided what Minal was looking for.
Taking a shard from the mirror, Minal began to cut. To save herself from the fear of being trafficked and sold, Minal would disguise herself as Randhir. This way, she would be no target to the men around the city who were trying to take girls like her. When she finished, she looked at herself in the shard of the mirror. Her hair was short and choppy, but she looked like she could pass for a boy. So that’s what she did.
A week later and the ruse was working. No men looked at her like she was an item to be sold. However, there was a group of men that came by her area every day, looking to make friends with the local kids and, if rumor was right, gave those kids free meals. Men had scorned her and scared her. When they looked at her, even disguised as a boy, she got nervous. These men though, they gave her a sense of calm and peace when they looked at her. Like they actually cared about her.
“What’s your name?” The leader of their group asked her.
“Minal.” She said, before realizing what she had spoken. She dropped her head and stared at the momos they had ordered for her, a sinking feeling in her stomach. The man just looked at her with kindness and love.
“Minal…what a lovely name. Why do you dress like a boy Minal?” He asked, not with condemnation, but genuine curiosity.
“It’s safer to be a boy on the streets, even though I’m a girl.” She explained quietly, pushing a momo around her plate with a fork.
“How would you like to be off the streets and be called Minal again?” The leader asked tentatively, looking at Minal carefully. Her eyes shot up and locked with his. “You could stay with my family, we’d love to add you to our family.” His eye shone with kindness and there was no hidden meaning behind his words. Minal could feel that he really meant what he said, and she didn’t like having to pretend to be a boy.
“I’d love that.”
This past week, I got the chance to help write and edit a book full of stories. Stories that show how the ministry we’re working with tries their hardest to rescue street children. Even though this story is of my own fabrication of what might have happened to Minal in her past, the basic part of the story is true. She somehow got separated from her family either by running away due to poor conditions or because of the earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. At some point, while living on the streets, she decided to disguise herself as a boy.
Minal is a proud success story of the ministry we’re helping here in Nepal, of the hope this group brings. I have been blessed to have been placed here, where I am, and use my gift of writing fictional stories to further the kingdom of God and support our ministry in a way I’ve never done before.
Thank you all for reading! Your support through prayers is a blessing to me every day and I’m so joyful to be able to show you even just a snippet of what this ministry does!
