Papa

A friend of mine lost a parent to a long battle with cancer when we were in college. I could never tell her then "I understand how you feel" because I could not understand. But now I do. And when someone my age, with both parents to look up to, tells me "I understand", I want to scream back - "NO! You can not". I don't know when the pain will go away. I sure know that memories won't and should not. I guess the pain will be there too... always... but in a different form. Maybe a less painful pain. I am sure a day will come when looking at Papa's photo won't make me cry but smile and remember how wonderful a parent he was. I will always miss him. I will miss him not seeing Sohum grow up, not seeing Unnat get married, not holding his other grandchildren and most importantly not holding Maa's hand when she will need him the most. But most importantly I will miss him for not telling me what should I do when faced with a difficult situation.