This month was a momentous one. We have finally moved back to mummy and papa's home. Our home. It was not an easy decision. But it had to be done in order for us to move forward. Papa says it is necessary for us to face the past so that we can look to the future.

Papa is very grateful for all the love and unconditional support that he has received from Uncle Douglas and Aunty Elena. It has been almost a year and five months that we have stayed with them, ever since mummy went to Heaven. They have provided a haven and sanctuary for papa to heal, and for me to grow. It was a gesture that reflects love in its purest form. For that he is eternally grateful.


Papa says that he is much stronger today. He has learned to face mummy's absence with fortitude and humility. He feels mummy's spirit within him, guiding his every action. Now he says, it is time to rebuild our lives and set to the task of bringing me up in a way that would make mummy proud. Papa says that I am their loving creation, and he intends to see to it that I turn out to be best that I can be. Mummy may no longer be around to help him, but she will be his utmost inspiration, as she has always been.

Papa took leave from work for a week so that we could make the move. There was much to do- cleaning, moving belongings and ensuring that things were in working order. New routines have been established and papa is confident that the transition will go smoothly. Despite the melancholy that permeates everything in the house, papa feels strangely at one with the surroundings. As if the void in his heart has been soothed by the closeness to mummy's things. This house was at the centre of their lives, and now it's belongings, it's smells and it's memories are the closest things papa has to remember mummy by. Papa says it is a weird feeling- trying to fill the void in your heart with memories locked into inanimate objects. Then there is the question of what to do with mummy's things. How do you dispose of your beloved's belongings without losing some part of yourself in the process. How much can you afford to lose before you crumble. How do you move forward when the sentimentality is overwhelming. These will be some of the longest days of our lives.

This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First, to let go of life. In the end, to take a step without feet; to regard this world as invisible, and to disregard what appears to be the self. Heart, I said, what a gift it has been to enter this circle of lovers, to see beyond seeing itself, to reach and feel within the breast. -Rumi