BRIDEGROOM DOLL

“baba,oi bor putul ta amake ane dibe”

A cute, little girl, who has hardly spent five summers of her life, requested her father to bring her a  model of a bridegroom,

He replied- “hai maa ,amar tomar jonno sobar theke bhalo bor ane dibo”

As he was replying to her girl, he avoided eye contact, I being the lone witness of their conversation, it was not a herculean task for me to know that things weren’t that simple as they look.

As the train crossed two stations, I couldn’t resist myself and made an attempt to talk to the father,

After most of the formal conversation was over, I asked

“dada, sob thik ache toh?”(is everything alright)

He just replied –“yes”

So, I decided not to interfere as he was not comfortable at all in sharing his story,

Minutes away from our destination, he grabbed my hand and we went to a distance from where his daughter who couldn’t hear a thing

He told me -“She has fourth stage cancer”

His eyes were filled with tears,

I couldn’t utter a word,

They left, but I couldn’t stop thinking the fact that, not just a mere train journey this could be the last journey of her life, the promise that her father made that he will choose the perfect partner for her, may just  be a victim of destiny,

Every father has a dream, To marry her girl to the perfect person,

That’s why, when most of the girls confess their love to her family, Father generally hesitates, he gets jealous of the fact that 

 “how can my child love someone else more than me?” (It's not bad being a little selfish, isn't it?)

But after that, it is the responsibility of the daughter to make him understand rather than taking immature steps,

Ultimately, if the girl is happy, father will be the happiest person

That journey with the little girl, her priceless smile that gave no clue at all about the pain she is going through, not only taught me to be strong when situation kicks you in the a$$, but somehow gave a life lesson,

 now, when I will take the responsibility of a girl, the fact that will always be a constant in my mind -

“she is her father’s princess and I have to treat her in the same way "

P.S-“Life can have commas, not full stops,

Smile and respect the fact that there are people who actually care for you/

Happy J