In the Eyes of a Six-Year Old
travelling in a train - an overnight journey,
my mother, my sister, me, and my father.
my father had an interview with a prestigious company,
received a first-class ticket for himself, but we didn't!
he exchanged the ticket with a complete stranger, and got into the same compartment with us.
but didn't have a seat for himself. ignored his own suffering...nothing unusual for a man who bravely bore the burden of an uprooted family, devastated by partition of their motherland!
chilly wintry midnight, each and every passenger under thick blankets, sleeping heavily,
I heard... boom..boom...boom!
sound of the wheels hitting the railway track - crossing the bridge of river Kaveri!
that booming sound startled me, made me open my eyes,
and I found my exhausted father standing in front of me, alone - awfully sleepy,
holding an iron-bar for support,
eyes half-closed, all night!
somehow managed to find a comfortable space for us!
to a six-year old,
that was the moment she wondered -
who was more kind - God, or Her Father!
Reference: Kaveri is a river in the southern part of India.
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