“I’ll take her around,” volunteered little Jayati, wheeling the spastic Anna out. Ten years separated the two.

“She, too, yearns for your love,” commented my wife.

At bed time, I explained why Anna needed more care. “She’s a ‘special’ child,” I said.

“I also want to be ‘special’,” Jayati replied.

Vijai Pant is a language teacher in a school in India. He is also a freelance writer.