Life often presents its own strange tales and some of them move us more than others. Imagine a 3-year-old girl living in a house alone for two days, with none except her dead mother. When hungry she ate cheese, some lasagna that was left over from her mother’s last meal, and milk. Beside her dead mother’s body what gave her company was her favorite toy, a teddy bear named "Possum."
It happened in New Zealand, where the toddler lived with her mother Lauren Silbery, who was only 28 at the time of death. Authorities found the little Shylah Silbery only when the girl's uncle, Pete Silbery, alerted them through a friend who lived nearby. Pete had not spoken with Lauren in two days and he was worried. He called a friend who lived near their Wellington home. The friend came to visit the house, but the house was locked. Only the little girl was visible from outside, but there was no sign of her mother. When Pete got that news he called police.
Police came in and talked Shylah into unlocking the main door. They asked her to drag a coffee table to the door and stand on it so that she could reach the lock and unlock it, saving them from breaking the door. "Mummy does not wake up," that's all she could tell them. Shylah was treated in a hospital for several days and she recovered well from the dehydration and diaper rash that she had suffered.
Shylah has no idea of what she has lost. When her mother’s coffin was being lowered into the grave, she pointed at it and said, “Mummy's in there.” Many years later, she would remember this day, and will feel sad about it. Perhaps she would cry over her loss then, for now she is okay though. They will tell her stories about her mother—that she has gone to bring her toys, or, milk, and will be home soon, and she will believe them.
Until that day, when she is big enough to realize that her mother had gone to heaven, she would not cry for her.
First published on Technorati.
