Where are they now?

 Flowers for Ausra and Laura….

 

Many years ago I came across an article published in the L.A.C. “Bridges” News letter. They made mention of an effort to bring a little cheer into the lives of orphaned Lithuanian Children. It was basically a pen-pal program of sorts.

 At that time in my life I was a young man, a former Sailor, working as a Carpenter. Not exactly the type of person that one would expect to be interested in the lives of misfortunate children who lived on the other side of the ocean. Being as young as I was, I had no idea what the future would bring for myself, let alone two children so far away. (I was never insensitive to the needs of others.) And at that time, for all of the good I could see in the world, there was just as much bad.

I came to a point where the dark clouds always seemed to be following me. I soon came to the conclusion that even though I was seemingly unable to keep my own head above water, perhaps I could help someone else. I simply wanted to believe that I could  cause something good to happen, somewhere.

I made contact with the caretakers of two young girls who resided in Vilnius. One child “Ausra” was taken in by an aging man who was struggeling to get by on a very modest pension. The other child “Laura” was being raised by her grandmother who also had limited resources. Both children had lost or been seperated from their parents.

I can recall hearing stories from others about relatives who were looking for a hand out. Still others warned me that my decission to get involved with these children could possibly draw me in as an unsuspecting target for greedy caretakers who could be using these children to solicit money from abroad for selfish reasons. The problem I had with that train of thought was that the needs of two young girls should not be ignored for the sake of fear of being slighted by adults. I was further warned that it would not take long until subtle requests for gifts and money would be presented.

Nothing of the sort had ever occurred. I simply excanged occassional letters and birthday greetings with the children. They shared what thoughts that were on their minds as best they could at such an innocent age. They looked forward to my short letters written in far from perfect Lithuanian. And I too was eager to hear from them. It was not long before I was given the honor of being called ’Dede’ or ‘Uncle’. This sat well in my heart.

All the while I had never once received a request for money or items from their caretakers. My own financial situation was not very good. But I realized that my situation was far better than theirs. So I did send small packages with gifts and silly items that I knew would be guaranteed to put an extra smile on their faces. I also made sure to send practical items such as winter clothing. When small fortunes would come my way I began to send a litte money to their caretakers to help ease their woes. But never once did they ask.

One caretaker even suggested that I take care of myself first. His intentions were genuine. He did ask one time only if I could find a proper dress for his child’s first Holy Communion. He simply wanted that day to be as special for her as was for other children who were better off. I never thought I would find myself shopping for little white dresses! I still have the photo of Ausrele wearing her new dress in front of the church. I’m also the last one you might expect to hold on to such an item! But it reminds me of a special, yet short lived relationship with a precious child.

My contact with both girls was lost due to a multitude of circumstances. Sometimes the winds of life can hurl you in many directions and leave you without hope of finding the way back. I remember the words to a song that warned: ‘When you’re caught by a gale and you’re full under sail…remember the dangers below!” Well, like all of you, I’ve been through plenty of storms. Loosing contact with them was one of many painful ship  wrecks.

A few years ago I received a “message in a bottle” from one of the girls. It was a brief letter that found it’s way to me so many years later. She included an e-mail address. I contacted her immediately and exchanged a single elctronic letter with her. Then the worst happened. My Computer crashed. By the time I was able to replace it, her e-mail address had expired. I wrote to the return address on her original letter but have never heard from her. So now I often find myself wondering If I will hear from her again.

Many times I sit alone and wonder what has become of them both. I wonder what their lives have been like. They are both young women now. Are they married? Have they started their own familes? Are they living well? I’d be satisfied to simply know that they are healthy and O.K.

It’s a strange weight that I carry on my shoulders. On one hand I know that I brought at least a very small amount of happiness into their lives when they were very young. On the other hand I know that severence of our communications may have caused adverse afffects.

I’m still sitting on the shore, praying for another message in the bottle.

Tags: Ausra, Bartkiene, Bartkus, Bartkute, Connecticut, Laura, Lietuva, Lithuania, Lithuanian, Mursko, Sabutis, Vangeliauskaite, Vilnius, West Haven