星期一的早晨，我送女儿上学。看着光头的Sindu向着教室走去别有一番味道。“先生，您女儿真的是很了不起！”一位女士从车里走出来，接着说道：“和您女儿一起走着的光头男孩是我儿子，叫 Harih。他得了…白血病。Sinduja上周来看望了他，并且向他许诺她会处理同学们嘲笑他这件事。但是我万万没想到她会因为我儿子而牺牲掉自己漂亮的头发。”
My wife called, ‘How long will you be with that newpaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?
I toed the paper away and ruhed to the cene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened; tear were welling up in her eye. In front of her wa a bowl filled to it brim with curd rice. Sindu i a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.
I cleared my throat and picked up the bowl. ‘Sindu, darling, why don‘t you take a few mouthful of thi curd rice? Jut for Dad‘ ake, dear‘.
Sindu oftened a bit and wiped her tear with the back of her hand. ‘Ok, Dad. I will eat - not jut a few mouthful, but the whole lot of thi. But, you hould...‘ Sindu heitated. ‘Dad, if I eat thi entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ak for?‘
How elfle real love i .
‘Promie‘. I covered the pink oft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal. Now I became a bit anxiou. ‘Sindu, dear, you houldn‘t init on getting a computer or any uch expenive item. Dad doe not have that kind of money right now. Ok?‘WWw.hAOZUowEn.com
‘No, Dad. I do not want anything expenive‘. Slowly and painfully, he finihed eating the whole quantity. I wa ilently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat omething that he deteted. After the ordeal wa through, Sindu came to me with her eye wide with expectation. All our attention wa on her. ‘Dad, I want to have my head haved off, thi Sunday!‘ wa her demand.
‘Atrociou!‘ houted my wife, ‘A girl child having her head haved off? Impoible!‘
‘Never in our family!‘ My mother raped. ‘She ha been watching too much of televiion. Our culture i getting totally poiled with thee TV program!‘
‘Sindu, darling, why don‘t you ak for omething ele? We will be ad eeing you with a clean-haven head.‘
‘Pleae, Sindu, why don‘t you try to undertand our feeling?‘ I tried to plead with her.
‘Dad, you aw how difficult it wa for me to eat that Curd Rice‘. Sindu wa in tear. ‘And you promied to grant me whatever I ak for. Now, you are going back on your word. Wa it not you who told me the tory of King Harihchandra, and it moral that we hould honor our promie no matter what?‘
It wa time for me to call the hot. ‘Our promie mut be kept.‘
‘Are you out of your mind?‘ chorued my mother and wife.
‘No. If we go back on our promie, he will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wih will be fulfilled.‘
With her head clean-haven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eye looked big and beautiful.
On Monday morning, I dropped her at her chool. It wa a ight to watch my hairle Sindu walking toward her claroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a mile. Jut then, a boy alighted from a car, and houted, ‘Sinduja, pleae wait for me!‘ What truck me wa the hairle head of that boy. ‘May be, that i the in-tuff‘, I thought.
‘Sir, your daughter Sinduja i great indeed!‘ Without introducing herelf, a lady got out of the car, and continued, ‘that boy who i walking along with your daughter i my on Harih. He i uffering from... leukemia‘. She paued to muffle her ob. ‘Harih could not attend the chool for the whole of the lat month. He lot all hi hair due to the ide effect of the chemotherapy. He refued to come back to chool fearing the unintentional but cruel teaing of the choolmate. Sinduja viited him lat week, and promied him that he will take care of the teaing iue. But, I never imagined he would acrifice her lovely hair for the ake of my on!
Sir, you and your wife are bleed to have uch a noble oul a your daughter.‘
I tood tranfixed and then, I wept. ‘My little Angel, you are teaching me how elfle real love i!‘
The happiet people on thi planet are not thoe who live on their own term but are thoe who change their term for the one whom they love !!