Foster
"Foster" by Claire Keegan portrays the life of a young girl who is sent off to live in a stranger's house for 12 months. The story is told in the child's point of view and speaks of love, uncertainty, fear, growth, choice and knowing when to say nothing. The foster parents treat her warmly, like she is their own child. Through them, the little girl gets to see a glimpse of love and she feels grateful for having felt that love, even if it's only for a short period of time.
This little girl lacked an emotional connection with the world around her due to lack of love from her parents. She couldn't use her words at times but at the end of the story, her growth could be seen.
“Her hands are like my mother’s hands but there is something else in them too, something I have never felt before and have no name for. I feel at such a loss for words but this is a new place, and new words are needed.”
“Kinsella takes my hand in his. As soon as he takes it, I realise my father has never once held my hand, and some part of me wants Kinsella to let me go so I won’t have to feel this. It’s a hard feeling but as we walk along I begin to settle and let the difference between my life at home and the one I have here be.”
In this new household, secrets are seen as a shame but they have a secret themselves. It teaches us that sometimes secrets are kept not purposely for hiding things but due to the lack of words to express it.
"Many’s the man lost much just because he missed a perfect opportunity to say nothing."
The little girl also learns when to say nothing and keep silent. Words aren't as useful in certain times and it's best to keep quite at such places. Before she was returned to her home, there was a little problem which she refused to tell her mother and father and chose to keep it as a secret.
At the end of the story, we could see how the child has changed, when nurtured with proper love and care. She displays strong emotions which she was distant from before.
This moving story grapples our heart from the first line and has us crying by the last line. Foster means "to nourish or care for" and the Kinsellas did nourish her soul and made her feel loved and valued. Even though she was returned to her parents and her rightful home at the end, she lost even more than words could explain.
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