ALSphere Foundation
Joel was exhilarated; in his twelve years of life, he had never seen snow, and how could he? It never snows in Kerala, and he had never been out of Kerala.
It took them three days to reach Mashobra, a town 11 km away from Shimla, where his father’s best friend, Mr. Binoy, lived for the past ten years. Once reached, Joel was thrilled to see snow-clad mountains around and inhaled deep to fill lungs with fresh mountain air. Sri, Mr. Binoy’s son, was of the same age as Joel. He took Joel to show around the town and various species of plants that grow on mountains. For the first time, Joel saw the step farms and couldn’t resist their charm.
He would get up every morning and play in the snow with Sri for hours. Life couldn’t get any better for him.
The day he and his family were about to leave, a snowstorm started and covered all roads, rooftops, and fields in a thick blanket of snow. Andrea, his younger sister, couldn’t cope with this change in climate and fell ill with a high fever. There were no medical facilities in this hamlet, and going to Shimla was not possible due to the storm. Despite all the care and home remedies his mother gave, the fever showed no mercy and kept increasing. Joel loved Andrea very much and was panicked to see her like this. Despite his desperate will to help her, he was unable to do so thus felt helpless. Tears kept on rolling; he blamed himself for her condition as he was the one who pushed their parents to come here in the Himalayas to see the snow. Sri couldn’t bear Joel’s condition and wanted to bring him out of his pain. He thought of something and told Joel, “There is one secret in the Himalayas. Do you know?” He got Joel’s attention, “Well, there is one sacred tree which gives away its fruits generously to heal people. And if you collect and keep them near a sick person, they shower their blessings.” Joel requested him, to show him that tree. Sri took him to the backyard near the pine tree and told him to collect at least ten pinecones from the ground. The storm didn’t bother Joel; he dug deep in the snow to find the lying pine cones and gathered them. He carefully put them in his woolen cap and came inside. Sri was happy to see hope in Joel’s eyes. They both took a bowl and filled it with the pinecones and kept it near Andrea’s bed with faithful hearts. The next morning Joel heard his mom’s excited voice announcing to everyone that Andrea’s fever is down. Joel kissed his sister on the forehead and looked at those pinecones, which were now completely open as if, showering their bliss. Sri stood at one corner and felt happy to see Joel laughing with Andrea and wondered how much little hope and faith could do!
