Whispers of a Lost Promise
A Story of Family Loss
This real story tells the story of a family’s tragic loss when a younger brother passes away due to medical negligence. It explores their grief and eventual flicker of hope as a new life enters their world, bridging the chasm of their profound loss.
I vividly remember the day I lost my younger brother, a heartbreaking event etched into my memory. He was just nine years old, and it happened due to a doctor’s negligence. On that fateful morning, he didn’t accompany me to school. My father, who usually saw me off to school, had a strange feeling that day.
My father worked in a different city and commuted on his two-wheeler. As the day began, he set off for work, and my older brother left for his school. Meanwhile, my younger brother, who was three years my junior, stayed home because he wasn’t feeling well. Little did I know that I was seeing him for the last time that morning; he would leave us forever.
Midday at school, I was urgently called to the office, and I received the devastating news that my brother was unwell, and I needed to go home. My heart weighed heavily as I walked back home, wondering what would happen, all at the tender age of 12.
Upon arriving home, our family doctor was desperately trying to administer an IV. My mother urged me to pray for my brother’s survival. Soon, he was rushed to the hospital. On that day, my father had a gut feeling and returned from his commute, not able to go to work. My older brother was also called back from school. Together, we prayed, recited mantras, and anxiously wondered about our younger brother’s fate.
We couldn’t fathom that he would leave us so suddenly, at the age of nine. His untimely death shattered our family. My mother put on a brave face for us, but I could see the sorrow in my parents’ eyes during their moments of vulnerability. I often saw my brother in my dreams.
One night, a dream brought me solace. I saw a little child in white clothes walking on our terrace. I asked, “Are you my brother?” He replied, “Yes.” That same night, my aunt woke me up and exclaimed that my parents had welcomed a new baby brother. We rushed to the hospital, and there, to my utter surprise, the same baby that I saw in my dream lying beside my mother and smiling at me. It was my younger brother had come back to us in a new form, bringing a glimmer of hope amid our profound loss.
