Father's Warmth

There were howls and moans of patients in the hospital. Some were of helpless dying people, who were leaving this world, and some were of newborns who had just had their first glimpse of life.

And I am afraid to tell you I was among these howling newborns. I was born a minute or two ago, and I was crying all that while. My first vision of life was – a woman wearing a white uniform sort-of-a-thing, and a pair of gloves. She was also holding some tools in her hands. I would go on to call her a nurse.

Even though my sense of smell wasn’t completely developed, I could easily tell this room smelled strongly of mucus. I couldn’t resist it. And then, as I turned my head, I looked around and found out something. The nurse wasn’t alone.

Accompanied with her were another man, who was a doctor, and another nurse, wearing the same uniform as the first. They were looking really exhausted, and I just realized that these three, along with me, weren’t the only people that were present in the room currently.

I was lying down close to a woman I knew for nine months. Even though I was hiding in her, she took me to all sorts of places, like the doctor’s, the restaurant, and many more. This woman was my mother.

My mother was unconscious at the moment. And before I could catch just one more glimpse of her, one of the nurses carried me. I cried louder than ever!! Where was I going?

I understood. The nurse took me to some place with a control and some tubes and all that. This was to give me oxygen, so I could breathe.

In the midst of all this, someone knocked on the room’s door. Curious to know who it was, I tried turning my head, but it wouldn’t budge – the tube was stuck on my nose.

A man had walked in the room. He was looking quite tired, though very excited at the same time. He wore spectacles, and he was wearing a handsome shirt with jeans.

‘Sir?’ said the second nurse sharply.

‘I’d like to carry the baby,’ said the man tersely. ‘May I?’

The nurse stared. ‘Sure, sir. You may.’

And so, the man walked forward. He was barely a foot away from me. I had only just come out of those foul-smelling tubes. And slowly, the man lifted me up, from the base.

He roamed around the room, and hummed a tune. Then he said, ‘Hello, baby. Welcome.’

I made a soft ‘Woo’ sound. All I wanted to express to him was ‘I love you.’

This man was quite extraordinary. He replied, ‘Yes, me too.’

I was frozen. I was not even crying. He could read my mind! And very expertly! He was, for sure, no ordinary man.

And then, quite abruptly, I felt a sudden warmth zap across me. I looked at the man, and then felt the warmth again.

The man roamed me around for about two more minutes, in which time I had gone completely silent. I was looking at him in amazement. What a man!

And now, eleven years later, that same warmth still zaps across me whenever I look at that man. And I know of only one such man who can do this – my father.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!