Life Has to go on

The Title of the story says it all : Life has to go on

Life Has to Go On

By Rekha Iyer

Netra is a good looking girl and a student from most happening college in Mumbai. Most of her friends often discuss about the further studies & when her friends use to ask her “what’s your plan”? she used to answer”let’s see what’s in store for me if not works surely I can become a model but need to be skinny” and all of her friends used to high five her.

Apart from her college life she was her “Daddy’s little girl” & Why shouldn’t she be?

Netra was the only child and her mother died when Netra was just 3 years old.  Her father decided not to get married again and he raised her.

 Our parents love us un-conditionally and especially for a father his daughter will always be a princess. & Netra’s father not only raised her like a princess they were also best friends. And for Netra her father was her HERO & she always obeys him if he does not allow or approve for certain things. Such wonderful father-daughter bonding can hardly be seen or heard of.

Netra and his father never missed their chat over a cup of tea every evening. One such evening when they were talking her father looked into netra’s eyes and said “you will finish your studies soon and then you will get married, what will this old man do without his Princess”? Netra hugged her daddy and replied “my hero will come with me where ever I go” her father did not say anything but smiled with misty eyes.

Soon it was netra’s birthday. She woke up searching for her dad but she could not find him. She went and knocked neighbour aunty’s door and asked did you see my Dad?   Aunty first wished her “Happy Birthday” & said “yes I saw him early morning going in a hurry and I asked him where he was going? He said he forgot to buy a bouquet for you.

Netra was sad that she could not see her dad first in the morning on her birthday but was surprised to see a gift with a letter in the living room. She ran towards the gift and was about to open the letter & she thought “I will wait for dad, let me see his reaction while I read” and she started looking for her dad from her window and after a while she looked up in the sky closed her eyes and said “thank you for such a wonderful father”. Soon the birthday girl started getting calls one after another from her friends and she got busy. When she was speaking to one of her friend she was getting call waiting continuously from an unknown number. She ignored number of times but still it continued to be on second line. She told her friend “I don’t know I am continuously getting a second call from unknown number” her friend replied “May be from one of your diehard fan from our college, please attend that call first he must be dying to wish you” and they both giggled on this, netra said “ok I will check & call you back” and attends the call while she was still smiling, the person on other side immediately said “Hello Your father met with an accident please come to the hospital fast”

Netra replied “what rubbish my dad is right heaaare” and she looked around and only then she realized that her daddy did not come back home long time. The person on the call spoke again “Hello Are you there? Please come fast” and call got disconnected. Netra with a trembling voice called “Daaaaaad” but there was no reply. She kept on calling several times with no reply. Her vision got blur tears started rolling out to her cheeks. She wanted to get up but her legs got weak & her hands got numb, still she wiped her tears and collected all the energy together and walked towards the door to open. Their neighbour aunty accompanied her to the hospital. As soon as they reached the hospital the receptionist without any delay directed them to the section where it was written        “Emergency & Accident” from there they were directed to the ICU. Netra started running towards ICU but before she reached the door opened and the ward boys were taking out a patient in a stretcher to some other room and netra suddenly noticed that it was her dad. “Daaaadaa” she screamed and the nurse nearby looked back and called the doctor immediately. Netra by that time ran towards the doctor and the doctor held her shoulders tightly with his both hands and looking into her eyes said “your father is no more”. Aunty who was besides netra started crying. But Netra was still looking at the doctor without uttering and neither was she crying. After procedure the body was handed over & Netra and aunty took the body in a van. All the way till home she kept staring at the body which was completely covered with bandage. Aunty shook netra’s shoulder but still she was staring. They reached home till that time all her friends gathered and hugged her tightly and cried. Netra still did not react. The body was not kept for long in the house and was taken for cremation. Relatives stayed with netra for some days and one by one everyone left. She hardly speaks with anyone, her friends visited her almost every day and tried being as normal as possible with her, but she would just look at them without facial expression.

Days and months passed away and everybody around her started worrying about her. Her friends one day took out for a walk in the evening, while getting down she stopped near the cycle which her dad use to ride daily in the morning. She moved her fingers from one end of the handle till the bell. She rang the bell once and she could hear her dad calling her, she rang once again and suddenly started ringing continuously till she sat down and cried. Her friends did not stop her because they wanted her to let her emotions out. They thought may be that would help her to get back to the routine.

But things got worse. She lost interest in her daily routine, she did not resume her college, and she did not bother getting up from her bed. Sleeping for long hours and leaving the stains of her tears on her pillow became her routine.  One day when she was awake for sometime a friend visited her and asked “why don’t you come to college?  Everybody is missing you badly. Netra did not reply as usual and her friend got up to leave, Netra suddenly replied “I miss my Daddy I want to go to sleep and never get up” her friend held her cheeks and asked  “Neaatra whaaats wrong with you?” but she just got up and went to her bedroom. Her friend ran behind her to check, netra sat on her bed and started looking out of the window. Her friend came near netra and hugged her, netra did not hug her back but her friend did not leave her. She was still hugging her when netra started crying. This time she cried more than the last time. Her friend made her to sit on her bed and let her cry. She was still crying when her friend came back with two cups of coffee with her. While having coffee netra did not speak much but at least she was listening to her friend talking about their college.  After sometime her friend left saying that she will visit her later.

Netra with her swollen eyes started looking around all her living room when her eyes stopped over the birthday gift and the letter which was given by her dad. She opened the gift it was a beautiful miniature doll of a dad holding a little girl and it had a small note which read “my princess”. Everything was blur once again in front of her she wiped her eyes and opened the letter to read which goes like this

 

My Dear Princess,

          Happy Birthday

 I want you to be happy now and always. I am not that good in putting words together, still I wanted to write because I always wanted to tell your mother how much I loved her. Many a times I thought of expressing by writing a letter to her but that never happened. Time & your mother both passed away.

Now why am I writing all this on your birthday because I want to tell you LIFE HAS TO GO ON no matter what ever happens. When your mother died I too wanted to go away with her, but there was a little fairy standing below pulling my pajama indicating to lift her up.

My Life changed completely. You were the purpose of my life, I smiled because you smiled, and like all other father your smallest things used to bring loads of joy to me. I do not remember a single day if we were apart even though you were always mature to your age. I always missed your mother a lot and I still miss her. But truth of life is that your life does not end when your loved ones leave you. I converted all my anger of losing your mother into positive energy and that helped a lot in raising you. I never spoke about this with you earlier because I did not want you to feel sad about anything. But now the time has come for you to know the other side of life.

I love you a lot my princess but I cannot be around with you always like you said the other day I will take my hero where ever I go. I know what you must be thinking now But daddy what to do when I miss you a lot? Well when you miss me just blow a flying kiss on the sky I will take it from wherever I am.

I did not want to miss any chance of writing a letter to you at the same time do not want to advice much on life on your birthday. You are really a brave intelligent girl and really know how to handle situations.

Enjoy your day. I know you and your friends have plans for party but please do not be very late. J (I am not an expert like you to use smileys)

Love you forever my child

You’re Hero

 

Netra’s eyes filled with tears but she had a smile. She carefully folded the letter and put it in an envelope and placed safely between pages of her diary. She got up washed her face she again took her diary and ran upstairs to the terrace. She once again read her daddy’s letter and looked up in the sky and threw a flying kiss up above. She stood there silently closing her eyes for sometimes. She then came back home prepared food for herself set an alarm for tomorrow and she went to sleep.

Next day morning she went to her college and her friends were very happy to see her back normal. But mentally she still could not take the fact that her father is no more but she decided to convert all her anger, sadness into positive energy like her daddy.

She became more focused and had an ambition; she finished her bachelors & master’s degree and then a PHD. & now Netra works as a Counselor at Depression center. She chose to be a Depression counselor because she herself was into it to some extent. But the main reason was that she wanted to help others to overcome this mental disease which is spreading like a wild fire.  True depression is much more serious than a simple case of the blues.

One of her patient one day sent her message “Thank you for everything” she replied with her daddy’s golden words Do not forget LIFE HAS TO GO ON.

 

       

Reviews

[Marie]

THis is so sad that it made me cry. I am glad Netta was able to focus her grief into something positive and help others realize that life does go on.

I have lost so many of the people I loved, and still life goes on.

[rkiyer]

Yes Marie life does go on. Thanks a lot for your comments