If you were there now, you would have done this wonderfully. He thought, checking his late wife's photograph in his wallet, like he always did whenever he faced any kind of difficulty.
Five years had passed after her untimely death in an accident. He and his daughter (barely six years old, at that time) had staggered and reeled under the blow. For almost a year, he was in a state of blank, doing his duties automatically and paying attention only when it came to his daughter who had become his lifeline.
The world went after him, asking, demanding, cajoling and emotionally-blackmailing him to remarry. He had stubbornly refused. There was no place in his heart for someone else. Every woman, after marriage, deserved the whole-hearted attention and love of her husband. He knew he would never be able to do that again and he had resolutely decided to never to bring that kind of grief to anyone's life voluntarily and knowingly. He had his daughter, and that's all he wanted.
But today, he badly wished for his wife's presence. Not that there was ever a moment that he didn't miss her. But he had learnt to live without her and had put his heart and soul into his daughter whom he had raised very lovingly. He used a balanced technique of a little bit of strictness and a little bit of softness while dealing with her. She knew she was his weakness, and she also knew that she was never allowed to take advantage of him in any way. Thinking about his daughter filled his heart with love and pride. She had turned out to be the best of the best. Innocent, strong yet kind and jovial by nature, she had adjusted to her mother's absence in a much better manner than he had adjusted to his wife's absence.
So how do I do this? He thought miserably. It was Menstrual Hygiene Day and that had brought home the hard truth that he was yet to inform his daughter about this phase of life. He didn't know how he felt exactly. There was a little bit of awkwardness, for sure. The only lady to whom he had been really close was no more, and he barely talked to any other females, let alone discuss such matters. But he knew he would have to inform his daughter at any cost.
On a whim, he typed 'Menstrual Cycle' in google to know more about it. He clicked on the link that he felt was most useful and read about it. The more he read about menstruation and periods, the more he felt awe and wonder for all that a woman went through and was capable of. With every article he read, his respect for women grew by leaps and bounds. Suddenly he felt like smiling. This wasn't awkward any more. It was a much-needed and beautiful cycle of life for ladies, although when he read about the taboos surrounding the subject, he shook his head. Each and every taboo was unnecessary, and over-rated, he decided. He would present this to this daughter in the way it was meant to - positively and with lot of patience and care. Reading about the cycle made everything much easier for him. With renewed vigor he finished his coffee and left his office canteen to catch the next available bus to his home.
He reached the creche where his daughter spent the day after her school. He remembered the heart-breaking feeling of leaving her there on the first day when he had to join his office after a month's leave. He obviously couldn't stop working, and she needed someone to look after her in his absence. The girl had shown amazing resilience when he had dropped her at the creche for the first time. The only indication of her turmoil was the quivering of her lips when he waved bye to her. The rest of the walk from the creche to his bus-stop had been blurry with the tears that had overwhelmed him completely.
We have come a long way from that day, my princess.. He thought sadly. Though she was grown-up now and almost eleven years old, she still wanted to spend the day at the creche. She had made some friends in the building where the creche was located, and she enjoyed with them.
As he rang the doorbell, he smiled at the sound of footsteps running towards the door. It was opened eagerly by none other than his daughter who smiled widely at him and hugged him hard. As he returned her hug, he knew that he would never love anyone else as much as he loved this precious girl. After waving bye to the lady managing the creche, they both left.
Two hours later, the father and his girl had had their dinner, played some indoor games and were now lying on the bed watching a late-night comedy show. He knew it was time to talk to her. He searched for some kind of hesitation or awkwardness but realized that he didn't feel anything at all, except the excitement to inform his princess about her next phase of life. He smiled and cleared his throat.
" Princess, there is something that you should know." When she turned her eager eyes towards him after switching off the television, he felt overwhelming love for his little girl flood up his heart. He silently sent a grateful thought towards his late wife and slowly began. "There comes a phase in the life of every girl, you know..." As she snuggled up close to him, he knew that 'The Talk' had lost the last bit of hesitation and awkwardness. Hugging her securely in his embrace, he told his princess about the phase of life that would eventually make her a Queen.
Five years had passed after her untimely death in an accident. He and his daughter (barely six years old, at that time) had staggered and reeled under the blow. For almost a year, he was in a state of blank, doing his duties automatically and paying attention only when it came to his daughter who had become his lifeline.
The world went after him, asking, demanding, cajoling and emotionally-blackmailing him to remarry. He had stubbornly refused. There was no place in his heart for someone else. Every woman, after marriage, deserved the whole-hearted attention and love of her husband. He knew he would never be able to do that again and he had resolutely decided to never to bring that kind of grief to anyone's life voluntarily and knowingly. He had his daughter, and that's all he wanted.
But today, he badly wished for his wife's presence. Not that there was ever a moment that he didn't miss her. But he had learnt to live without her and had put his heart and soul into his daughter whom he had raised very lovingly. He used a balanced technique of a little bit of strictness and a little bit of softness while dealing with her. She knew she was his weakness, and she also knew that she was never allowed to take advantage of him in any way. Thinking about his daughter filled his heart with love and pride. She had turned out to be the best of the best. Innocent, strong yet kind and jovial by nature, she had adjusted to her mother's absence in a much better manner than he had adjusted to his wife's absence.
So how do I do this? He thought miserably. It was Menstrual Hygiene Day and that had brought home the hard truth that he was yet to inform his daughter about this phase of life. He didn't know how he felt exactly. There was a little bit of awkwardness, for sure. The only lady to whom he had been really close was no more, and he barely talked to any other females, let alone discuss such matters. But he knew he would have to inform his daughter at any cost.
On a whim, he typed 'Menstrual Cycle' in google to know more about it. He clicked on the link that he felt was most useful and read about it. The more he read about menstruation and periods, the more he felt awe and wonder for all that a woman went through and was capable of. With every article he read, his respect for women grew by leaps and bounds. Suddenly he felt like smiling. This wasn't awkward any more. It was a much-needed and beautiful cycle of life for ladies, although when he read about the taboos surrounding the subject, he shook his head. Each and every taboo was unnecessary, and over-rated, he decided. He would present this to this daughter in the way it was meant to - positively and with lot of patience and care. Reading about the cycle made everything much easier for him. With renewed vigor he finished his coffee and left his office canteen to catch the next available bus to his home.
He reached the creche where his daughter spent the day after her school. He remembered the heart-breaking feeling of leaving her there on the first day when he had to join his office after a month's leave. He obviously couldn't stop working, and she needed someone to look after her in his absence. The girl had shown amazing resilience when he had dropped her at the creche for the first time. The only indication of her turmoil was the quivering of her lips when he waved bye to her. The rest of the walk from the creche to his bus-stop had been blurry with the tears that had overwhelmed him completely.
We have come a long way from that day, my princess.. He thought sadly. Though she was grown-up now and almost eleven years old, she still wanted to spend the day at the creche. She had made some friends in the building where the creche was located, and she enjoyed with them.
As he rang the doorbell, he smiled at the sound of footsteps running towards the door. It was opened eagerly by none other than his daughter who smiled widely at him and hugged him hard. As he returned her hug, he knew that he would never love anyone else as much as he loved this precious girl. After waving bye to the lady managing the creche, they both left.
Two hours later, the father and his girl had had their dinner, played some indoor games and were now lying on the bed watching a late-night comedy show. He knew it was time to talk to her. He searched for some kind of hesitation or awkwardness but realized that he didn't feel anything at all, except the excitement to inform his princess about her next phase of life. He smiled and cleared his throat.
" Princess, there is something that you should know." When she turned her eager eyes towards him after switching off the television, he felt overwhelming love for his little girl flood up his heart. He silently sent a grateful thought towards his late wife and slowly began. "There comes a phase in the life of every girl, you know..." As she snuggled up close to him, he knew that 'The Talk' had lost the last bit of hesitation and awkwardness. Hugging her securely in his embrace, he told his princess about the phase of life that would eventually make her a Queen.
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