Today, I was in the hospital with Rishita — and the courage and strength this little flower showed was beyond my expectations. Some of the emotional conversations she had touched me deeply, so I thought I must write them down.
Why hospital? How hospital? Let me explain.
Morning Routine and Feels
Today was my last day of service in this “father-come-mother” role. My wife had gone to attend a family function, and I was on duty managing both kids for the last four days.
I woke up at 6:30 am and started preparing tiffin. Rishita came to the kitchen and tried to convince me to let her skip school today. She argued that not much is happening at school — it’s December and mostly Annual Performance practice. But I had another plan. I wanted to go to office and for that both kids needed to go to school.
If only I had known that eventually her plan would look more sensible… I would have definitely let her stay home. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see the future.
Rishita’s Hesitation
With a brave heart she went to school. I finished my breakfast and morning routine. Around 8:30 am, when I came out from my bath, I saw back-to-back missed calls on my mobile — from my friend, my wife, and neighbors.
I immediately called Vrutika. She was panicked and told me to rush to school — Rishita had fallen down and got a deep wound above her eye. None of us knew how serious it was. Without thinking much, I ran with my scooter — the fastest way to reach her.
I reached the school nurse’s room and saw Rishita half conscious in the hands of teachers along with two sports teachers. The moment she saw me, she cried. If I had panicked, she would have cried even more — so I controlled myself and behaved as if nothing big had happened.
With the help of school staff, we rushed to the nearest hospital. Once the wound was cleaned, I could clearly see it — deep near the eyebrow area, requiring 3-4 stitches.
But throughout all this, I kept talking to her. The moment she saw me in school, she stopped crying — and didn’t cry again till we reached home.
While resting on the hospital bed and being examined by the nurse, she held my hand so tightly, not letting me go. She kept asking questions:
“How deep is it?”
“What will the nurse do next?”
“Is it serious?”
“Papa, can you show me a picture?”
I calmed her by showing my old eyebrow scar and told her it will hurt for a while but heal soon.
Then came the injection — to numb the area before stitches. We explained why it was needed, but the pain was only hers to feel. She cried, broke down — yet never left my hand. I kept counting softly, “2 more… 1 more… done!”
She thought it was over… but then we told her about the stitches.
She refused at first. So I told her the story of how my wound wasn’t stitched, so the mark is still there. While telling her this story — the stitches were already done! She was fine and in less pain thanks to the injection.
While she was recovering, she told me something that really touched me:
“Papa, Vedshree did not help me. She ran far away and cried again.”
She expected all her friends to run towards her when she was in trouble — just like she would do. I didn’t want her to keep that emotional wound inside.
So I asked, “Then who called the teacher?”
She replied, “Vedshree went to call the teacher.”
I said, “See! She helped you! Some kids get scared seeing blood — so she helped in another way.”
She thought, then nodded:
“Yes Papa… she even came with me holding my bags.”
Her doubt about her friend disappeared.
After everything was done, she said:
“Papa, can you please drop me to school back?”
I said, “Why? You want to stay home now, right?”
Once she came home — she was as charged as her usual self.
And I was just amazed. How she handled this incident — managing two wounds — one near the eyebrow… and one inside her heart.
