How often do you call your parents? How often do you hug them? If your answer is "not very often," then this story on the Humans of Bombay page is for you.
Shared just a few days ago, this Mumbai teen's story about tragically losing her parents one after the other, has touched the hearts of millions of netizens.
In the post, the teenager (whose name has not been revealed) starts her story with how her parents met, fell in love and made a life together.
How it began...
“My parents were soulmates. They first met when my father worked at a grocery store and my mum and her friend went there to buy something. He wrote her a love letter and the next time she went to his store, he gave it to her and she agreed to go out with him," she begins.
"Turns out, they used to even live opposite each other, and if they had plans to meet, my dad would whistle below her building. They would communicate with each other through their windows and when dad used to go to work, my mum would run to the PCO during his lunch break to call him," she continues as she talks about their lives together.
"They had an intercaste marriage, fighting all odds and in every sense they complimented each other. When dad lost his job at one point, mum supported us and dad took care of me… they were always balancing each other out," she says.
Then, tragedy struck...
She then continues to describe the tragedy that strikes her entire family, leaving her mother in an especially vulnerable position.
"Dad had been a smoker for 30 years, he tried to quit many times but whenever he did it made his health worse. When he passed away, I was numb…I couldn’t even cry because it was so hard to believe that he wasn’t with us anymore, but I had to be strong for my mum," she reveals.
"It was like a part of her had passed with him and to live without him initially was terribly hard for her. She would send him text messages for days after he was gone, she would talk about him continually and I don’t think there’s a day in the past 5 years that she didn’t speak about him," she says as she describes her mother's undying love for her father.
His death changed her mum...
Her father's death was not easy on the entire family, especially her mother. However, after a few years, she came to terms with the loss and started spending more time with her daughter.
"Eventually, she became stronger and the two of us would spend all our free time together. She worked hard and gave me everything…I don’t think I could have asked for a better mother. Through this time, I was going through a bad phase at school," she says.
Continue reading to see what happened next, we bet it will make you run to your parents!
The bullying began
Just as she thought her life was getting normal, this Mumbai teen was hit by another stone- that of school bullying.
"My only friends were a group of boys, because they didn’t gossip, and the other girls at school called me a ‘slut’ without even knowing me. I have never hurled those profanities at anyone because I know best that you never know what others are going through," she explains.
"I began to channelise my energy towards photography, something that helped me emote and express myself," she shares.
When all was well, this tragedy happened...
But the mother-daughter "Most of my focus was on my mum and we began travelling a lot, just the two of us and she even gifted me this scooty on my 17th birthday!" she says.
Sharing the next tragedy that was to befall this young teenager, she shares, "On one occasion, we were on the highway to Indore, travelling together as always when we met with a car accident. I was in the back seat of the car fast asleep and before I knew what was happening I woke up with a start and saw blood all over me…all around me. It wasn’t mine."
"My mother had sustained a severe head injury, and even though we were all out on the road asking for help— not one car stopped for us. After a lot of time when one car stopped, half the people got off and took my mother to the hospital. She had multiple fractures and a head injury but she didn’t make it," she shares.
"I lost her on Mahashivratri, six months ago…and all of a sudden, at 18 I found myself alone. I can’t describe the pain of losing her - my best friend, my strongest support," she says.
What happened next will amaze you!
The death of her parents left this girl lost. But she quickly learnt to pick up the pieces from her life and amazed everybody with her grace and strength. The process started with moving in with her nani.
"I moved in with nani and realised that there were responsibilities waiting for me — bringing groceries, managing finances, taking care of nani and understanding the value of money. It’s difficult, but I can’t lose hope. Mum bought me a DSLR on my 16th birthday and this bike on my 17th and I believe it was a subtle message that I should travel and photograph to live my dream...our dream," she says.
Through her inspiring story, this Mumbai teen wishes to get across two important social messages.
"I wish my story conveys two strong messages -- first- don't push plans with your parents to 'tomorrow' -- sometime that tomorrow doesn't come; everyone's time here is limited and second-- don't bring down people you know nothing about-- everyone is going through something, so before calling someone names or tearing their character apart, think about this and show some compassion," she concludes.
We are sure that her story will resonate with even more people and they will all vow to spend more time with their parents.
Read: Abused and tortured for 20 years, this mum is now a strong and hopeful fighter!
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