The only family my parents were close to and trusted was Moosa Uncle and Selena Aunty’s family. That was the only house they would leave me at when they went for their nightly half-hour walk for exercise. When I was in LKG, their older son, Haris (whom I called "Haachan," a short form of HarisChetta, meaning elder brother with respect), was in 3rd grade, and their younger son was just a one-year-old baby.
I had a habit of needing to go to the toilet ( I used the word “ shu-shu” which means to urinate ) often, especially when someone else was inside the bathroom. At that time, we lived in a small one-bedroom apartment with a tiny bathroom and kitchen.
One day, after my parents left me at their house, I was playing with toys in the living room. Harish went to the bathroom, and since the baby was sleepy, Aunty and Uncle said they would put him to sleep and be back soon.
Suddenly, I felt like I needed to go to the toilet. As usual, I knocked on the bathroom door and yelled, "Haachan, will you be coming out soon? I need to go shu-shu!" He replied that he would be out soon. I quickly thought I could run and jump onto the soft couch, but instead of landing on the couch, I hit my head on the sharp corner of the coffee table.
Hearing the noise, Uncle and Aunty rushed out and asked, "What happened, sweetie?" I said through my tears, "Nothing happened," though it was both painful and frightening.
Soon, Haris came out and said, "Dolly, you wanted to go to the bathroom, right?" I said, "No," and started crying, pressing my head against the wall. The light floral wallpaper turned red with blood.
Uncle and Aunty were panicked, but before I could explain, they understood what happened. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and it was my parents. Mom was shocked and her blood pressure shot up when she saw what had happened. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my head because I was scared, but later I allowed Mom and Aunty to look at it. They immediately rushed me to the hospital, where I got three stitches in my head.
It felt as if I had undergone brain surgery, but my Mom felt relieved after speaking to the doctor. A mother can bear any pain, but the one thing she cannot bear is if something happens to her child. That’s a pain no mother can endure.
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