Fiction | Issue 2 (October 2023)

inspired by true events 

Parents of children with autism have one common dream for their children: for them to live in a world where they are not only accepted, but also understood, welcomed, and appreciated. … I am reminded of what another parent of a child with autism said about their child: “I wouldn’t change you for the world, but I would change the world for you.”

Professor (Adj.) Dato’ Dr. Andrew Mohanraj [1]

Miss Divya Suppiah

5 Jalan Tempinis

Bangsar

Kuala Lumpur

15 March 2000

I am very glad to have met you. I feel that my baby will be safe with you until I can come back for him. His name is Raj Lim and he is of both Chinese and Indian parentage. His father, James Lim, died in a motor-vehicle accident before we could be married at the Registry Office. I am now alone. I delivered the baby at a clinic and left the day after as I could not afford to stay longer than necessary. Still, I was lucky because I was able to get the clinic to certify that this child was born there. That’s the piece of paper I left with your receptionist at the Kuala Lumpur Baby Hatch. With luck, this is only a temporary measure and I’ll soon return for my baby. God Bless You.

***

Miss Divya Suppiah

67, Taman Golf,

Alor Setar, Kedah

15 May 2000

Thank you for all your goodness. I hope that Raj has not given you any more trouble. I am unable, right now, to travel If it’s okay with you, I will write periodically to ask after Raj. I returned to my parents’ home. I have enclosed the form you sent to me.

I, Divya a/p Suppiah, of 67 Taman Golf, Alor Setar, Kedah, am the biological mother of a baby boy born on 28 February 2000 at Kelinik Petaling Jaya, 721, Jalan Professor Khoo Khay Kim, Selangor. I hereby freely and of my own will agree that Kuala Lumpur Baby Hatch will provide a home for my baby until a time when I am able to collect my baby once more. I hereby promise not to interfere in the care that will be provided for my baby.

God Bless You!

***

Mrs. Divya Panikar

78 Jalan Bendahara

Alor Setar, Kedah

10 December 2000

I have thought very hard about what you wrote. I understand that there is a couple who would like to look after him. Do you get paid to give him to a family? I fear that my child will become an innocent pawn in a baby-selling racket.

I planned to take him back by now. However, my circumstances have changed somewhat. As you can see, I am now a married woman. My husband, however, doesn’t know the existence of Raj. I need some time to break the news to him so that I can bring Raj back. I understood that the document I signed was only meant as a protection for all of us and not to be used as something to force my hand. I’m not being ungrateful. I simply need a little time.

God Bless You.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

15 December 2000

My wife and I are desirous of having a child, but one young enough to have absolutely no memory of the past. If it is possible to choose, we’d prefer a little boy. It matters not to us if the child is an orphan or illegitimate. In fact, it would be better if there were no relations.

I understand that there is a fee to be paid which amounts to RM20,000.00 and you require cash. This must be paid in advance before the child is in our custody.

My wife and I are agreeable. Please ensure that the little boy is looked after well until we come to pick him up.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

7 March 2001

My wife and I would like to thank you for the delight that is this little boy. As my wife is also of Indian origin, he has fit in well with our inter-racial family. He now answers to the Christian name of Paul. Our lawyers are in the process of preparing the papers to ensure that we will be able to formally adopt the boy as our child.

***

Mrs. Divya Panikar

78 Jalan Bendahara

Alor Setar, Kedah

20 April 2001

Oh dear!

I am deeply distressed to know that Raj has been given, seemingly permanently, to a family without my consent. Unfortunately, my husband is not keen to bring up a child that is not his own. I am hoping to convince him otherwise, especially since I am now pregnant with his child. It was my hope that once our child is born, he will allow me to bring Raj back. Now that you tell me Raj has been given to this new family, my dream of seeing him again seems to be fading. Still, please tell them not to start the process to legally adopt him. I am coming, soon, to get him.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

25 April 2001

I write in a moment of some distress. We took the birth registration document for Paul to the Registration Department. We wanted a birth certificate to be issued so that we could being the adoption process. To our absolute horror, when we provided the birth mother’s identity card number, her religion is listed as Muslim. This is in spite of the fact that her name is clearly Indian in nature. I have succeeded in stalling the matter with the officers of the Registration Department. However, if this is not corrected immediately, they have informed me that they have every right, under the law, to take Paul away from us. If a baby is born to a Muslim woman, that child cannot be adopted by non-Muslims.

***

Mrs. Divya Panikar

78 Jalan Bendahara

Alor Setar, Kedah

30 April 2001

Thank you for letting me know about the error in my NRIC. I can confirm that I have made the corrections. May I ask, how did you come to know about this error in the first place? I would have thought that it would be the Registration Department who would inform me of this. My husband is still not agreeable to me bringing Raj back to stay with us. But, I promise, the day will come when I will be able to bring him back with me.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

23 December 2002

I write to inform you that, with delight, we have been approved for adoption. The investigations by the Department of Social Services were indeed very thorough. All the paperwork seems to have gone through without a hitch, either. We are now, officially, Paul’s foster parents.

Paul’s 3rd birthday will be coming up soon. No doubt he’s an active child. However, we’ve noticed that he likes very much to play on his own. At the kindergarten, he doesn’t seem to mix well with other children. Nonetheless, he’s our world, our joy, and our love.

***

Mrs. Divya Jones

149B Baker’s Street

Sydney

Australia

20 April 2006

As you can see, I’ve not only changed my name, but my address. My ex-husband was abusive. I was severely injured when he beat me and lost our baby when I was seven months pregnant. He was arrested for domestic violence and I filed for a divorce. It was a tough two years before I got back on my feet. Then, I met Michael and, like a real whirlwind romance, we got married and moved to Sydney. He fully accepts my past and is very supportive of my desire to bring Raj back to Australia. I shall be contacting you shortly with my travel plans.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

25 April 2006

I am absolutely horrified to know that the birth mother wants to be in contact. Please convey our objection and the fact that we are now, legally, Paul’s parents. I appreciate that the bond between a biological mother and child will remain forever, but Paul is now ours. We have taken very good care of him. Indeed, we have given him the best medical care, especially when we realised that there was something not quite right with his milestones. We took him to a specialist who diagnosed our Paul as having Asperger – Autism. He needs proper care and attention which we are giving him.

Can you please assure us that our address will never be given to the biological mother? I have heard of stories where biological mothers abandon their child, and then turn up at the home where the child has been adopted and creates a scene. If this issue is not addressed, I will seek legal advice, if necessary, and take all appropriate action.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

30 May 2006

Thank you for your letters. I do apologise if my previous letter sounded harsh. Only, my wife has been ill, and sometimes, I feel it’s as though we’ll never be left in peace with our boy.

I note what you say – that it would be good to inform Paul that he is adopted. And that his mother wishes to take him away. I beg your pardon, but you fail to comprehend two things. Paul is on the autism spectrum. Yes, his is a mild case. Nonetheless, children with autism cannot have their world disturbed. Even the slightest of disturbances can lead to much heartache for him. So, no, I will not agree to enter into any kind of correspondence with the biological mother, nor will I consent to her meeting Paul.

I do wonder, though, why does the biological mother think she still has a right to claim her child? Is she not aware that we’ve legally adopted him?

He is growing up healthy and very happy. I will not change our Paul for the world, but I promise you, I will change the world for him.

***

Mrs. Divya Jones

149B Baker’s Street

Sydney

Australia

20 September 2006

I am absolutely horrified reading your last letter. I cannot believe that Raj was formally adopted by his ‘parents’. I am his mother. As I believed it at the time, I was only placing my child in your care for a temporary period of time until I could get back on my feet. My husband has advised me to do all that is necessary and I am going to seek the advice of lawyers here in Australia.

***

Mrs. Divya Jones

149B Baker’s Street

Sydney

Australia

30 September 2006

I write further to my pervious letter to you. At the insistence of our lawyers, we hired a private investigator in Malaysia to track down this child. I am now given to understand that Raj is an autistic child. You say his name is now Paul. I will never use that name. He is Raj to me and always will be.

I am also advised by my lawyers here that to bring an autistic child into Australia will probably not be feasible.

I will call what happened to Raj what it is – stealing my child. The private investigator also alleges that you were paid a certain amount of money. If this is so, then…

I am heartbroken.

***

Mrs. Divya Jones

149B Baker’s Street

Sydney

Australia

31 March 2014

You may remember me. I am Raj’s mother, even though I understand that he is no longer Raj. Well, I stopped communicating with you from the moment I realised that my child was stolen from me. I have come to terms with this and, as advised by my therapist, to ‘move on’. With conscious effort, I started to live in the present moment and soon, when I thought of the past, I didn’t hurt as much. In time, my husband and I were given the greatest blessing of all as I conceived naturally and gave birth to our only child, a little girl we’ve named Rajkumari May Jones.

As an act of humanity, if ever Raj realises that he’s adopted and one day wants to know his past, please give him my address. I’m told that his new parents are Christians and I imagine that this would be the Christian thing to do.

I know the answer to this, but let me ask it anyway – please, will you one day ensure that Raj knows that I’m his mother? I would like to meet my son in this lifetime.

***

Tong Chin

Ipoh

15 August 2018

Thank you for your many letters. When our Paul attained the age of eighteen, my wife and I decided that it was time to tell him the truth. We were absolutely stunned when he said that he’d known for several years now. When we enquired, he said that the day we applied for his NRIC, at the Registry Department, there was a moment when I had to top up the parking metre and my wife needed to use the lavatory. In those few moments, an officer had accidentally mentioned that he was an adopted child. From then on, whenever we left him alone at home, he would rummage through the files we thought we’d kept safely under lock and key and found all the papers. He kept the matter a secret all this while, partly because he needed to process what happened to him and partly because he thought we’d be upset.

Until now, it has been our decision, too, that there should be no contact with his biological mother. Now, our Paul has said, himself, that he no longer wishes to meet his biological mother. Yes, he is grateful to her for giving birth to him. But his thought is this – her greatest sorrow is his greatest blessing. He would like to live his life in gratitude for all his blessings and hopes that his mother will be at peace with the decision she made a very long time ago.

Also, he’s now poised to go to Manipal in India where he’s secured a seat to study medicine. I cannot tell you how proud my wife and I are of him.

I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I am a simple man who lived simply with Christian values. Paul, our son, has given the pleasure of bringing him up and for that, I am ever so grateful to God and to you.

Thank you.

REFERENCE:

[1] Mohanraj, A. August 9, 2022. People with autism need more support at community and societal levels. The Star Online. [https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/health/matters-of-the-mind/2022/08/09/taking-community-and-societal-action-on-autism]