A mother's Love(Krittika) The silence, filled with peace, was shattered by the voice of a child. After the heavy downpour, the weather is pleasant. The clouds are still grey and the evening seems to be peaceful. I have been sitting on my chair with a pen in my hand and a page that I picked up from my mothers’ table. The curtains block the view outside my square window, every time the wind blows and I’m totally lost in the view. I see my neighbor and her daughter who will turn six next year playing in this little park but I can’t figure out what they have been trying to do! She is there in this park watching her daughter, Ayuni, trying to climb the ladders of the small slide over again and again. Ayuni cries, shouts for her mother to help her, then falls, gets angry but her mother tells her to try again. This thing has been going on since 1 hour. Every time Ayuni falls off the ladder her mother instructs her to get up rather than going and picking her up and wiping her tears.
I see Ayuni shouting in fury, ’you are the worst mother; I hate you!’
But her mother smiles on listening to that and tells her to try again. I’m confused why she is doing that. even if she wants Ayuni to learn climbing the ladders she has to first help her by holding her and showing it practically to her. Ayuni is way too small to learn this by verbal instructions.

Oh! I saw her mother trying to hide her tears as Ayuni fell off the ladder for the 13th time! Now I’m getting curious to know what is going on!
The wind blew again and the page in my hand fell on the floor. I picked it up and noticed that it wasn’t a blank page, it was a letter…
A letter that was addressed to my mother.

“Dear Manya,
I don’t know how or why this happened; I don’t have the courage to discuss this matter verbally with you as from last 3 years you have been like my elder sister and I’m emotionally attached to you so I opted for this letter. I have been diagnosed by the last stage of leukemia and doctor said I have barely 1 week or two if I’m lucky enough. There is no hope of survival. I just want you to know that I love you and you have been a great support in my difficult time. The last favor I need from you is to keep a watch over my little angel, Ayuni. My husband and I have gone through a hard time. My husband is not in a state of taking care of Ayuni right now as he is very depressed. Please take care of my family till everything returns back to normal.
Lavangi“

After reading the letter I didn’t realize when the tears rolled down my cheeks. I looked into the mirror and found myself crying. Now, at once I realized what was happening out in that park. Ayuni’s mother was trying to teach her that she has to learn living without her mother as each time she falls, her mother will not be there to pick her up; she has to brush off the dust and get up by herself. She wanted to teach Ayuni a lesson that would help her to be strong enough to live without her in the future. I gazed out of the window. The park was empty, they were gone. I closed my eyes and prayed for Ayuni so that the god might help her go through the bad time that was about come.

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