The Guardian

On a rainy night, a man sat on a bench. His right foot tapped restlessly on the hard mosaic floor. He checked the time on his wristwatch & looked up the door. After an agonising couple of hours, the squeaky door swung open & a doctor walked out with a grin. The doctor stated, "Congratulations, you are father to a baby girl." The man sighed in relief & his strained face was now at peace. He thanked the doctor & God. As he entered the private room, his exhausted wife raised herself & smiled at him. He hugged her, planted a kiss on her forehead & uttered, "Thank you." He peeped at the cradle where a baby tightly wrapped in a blanket lay fast asleep. The wife coaxed him to carry the baby, his eyebrows knotted. He doubted, "What if I drop her?" The wife chuckled, "Oh, come on! Just pick her up." He frowned at the not so understanding wife. He swallowed hard & picked the baby with trepidation. The baby seemed to snuggle in the warm blanket. She slowly opened her tiny eyes & looked up at him. The wife encouraged, "Isn't it the most natural thing to do?" As he turned towards his wife, he teared up & nodded. At that moment, the father was born.

As the baby grew, so did the attachment between the father & the child. The mother had a tough time, not that the child was fussy, but the father was. He worried unnecessarily & was being overprotective. The crawling phase of the baby was good fun. But each time she bumped her head, the dad would get upset. The father's head raced & the mother nipped it at the bud, "Now, do not tell me you intend to get a helmet for her." The father's attempt to react was interrupted. The mother remarked, "How will she learn to gauge the distance of objects & what will hurt her?" While he ground his teeth & muttered under his breath, she shook her head & walked away.

On the day the baby girl walked, the parents were beyond thrilled. Dad captured her first steps on his mobile. A few seconds later, he shrieked & mom held him back. He furiously looked at her. She calmly stated, "When learning to walk, a child is bound to fall. It is also natural to rise by oneself. That's how the body strengthens & child gains confidence. If you do not let her fall, she will not learn to rise." Though he hated what he heard, he knew it was true. He painfully watched the child's fall & rise but held himself back. Though the mother watched the child like a hawk, she did not react to the child's fall. He thought she was heartless. In no time, the child was able to walk without faltering. The mother gave him a look, 'I told you so.' He shrugged & she suppressed her laughter. She feared, "God save me on the day when his lovely daughter's knees bruise, either by a bicycle fall or while playing with other kids."

A couple of years later, it was time to send the baby to a playgroup. The mother had a tough time convincing the father than getting the baby ready to go. For the first week at playgroup, the father applied for leave & stayed at the school with the kid. The mother sent the father and daughter to school & caught on some precious quality sleep. In the second week, the child fell sick. The father complained, "What was the necessity to send her to playgroup so soon?" The mother reasoned, "How else is the kid going to build social skills & immune system? It's a growing phase & she is very much in need of such exposure. Please don't fuss about the most natural & common aspects of life." He angrily remarked, "For everything, you have an answer ready to throw at me." While she smiled warmly at him, his eyebrows knotted & nose flared.

As the months passed, the child groomed to socially bond with other kids & managed to build a better immune system. When it was the time to admit the child to a school, the father relentlessly searched for a school with a long list of criteria. The mother wanted to intervene, but she knew better & kept away from the subject. Eventually, the father zeroed on a school & admitted the child. The mother had inhibitions about the fee structure and an endless list of activities, yet she held back. The child seemed to struggle initially but managed to cope well. The parents ensured to spend quality time amidst their hectic work schedule & child's activities.

A few years passed & the child was at primary school. One evening the father returned home & noticed that the daughter was a little withdrawn. He assumed it was because the mother was busy at a client meeting & hadn't returned home. He enquired with the nanny. The nanny shook her head to convey, 'The child won't speak about it.' He waited for his daughter to come to him, but she seemed aloof. The child responded to his questions promptly but was disturbed. He held the child on his lap & coaxed her to speak up. She looked at him with teary eyes & raised her right hand. His eyes popped at the scratch marks & bloody spots. He delicately held the little hand & enquired about the wound. She narrated the ordeal of a new boy who joined her class & was a notorious one. The boy had hit her, pinched her until she bled & threatened to do more if she complained to the teacher. The child burst into an inconsolable cry & he was heartbroken. He held the child closely & calmed her. He carefully cleaned up the wound with a wave of anger boiling like lava.

When the mother arrived, he narrated the whole story. The mother checked the sleeping baby's hand & touched it softly. He had the 'look' & she chose to keep 'mum' on the topic. In the morning, the child cried & repeatedly expressed, "I don't want to go to school. That boy will hit & pinch me again!" The mother's stomach churned in pain & the father was furious. He calmed the child & convinced her that he would accompany her to school. The child was reluctant to go to school. But on repeated assurances by both parents, the kid agreed.

The father-daughter duo reached school ahead of class time. The school seemed deserted as only the early school bus kids were on the premises. The father checked the staff room, and the daughter's class teacher was yet to arrive. He tapped his right foot & decided to visit the classroom. As they walked towards the corridor, the child's little left hand clutched her father's hand as though her life depended on it. The father walked up to the classroom & looked at his daughter. The petrified girl pointed in the direction of the bully. As the father walked up to the boy, the girl timidly hid behind her father.

The father inquired, "Why did you beat up & pinch my daughter?" The authoritative voice & angry face of the father sent a chill down the boy's spine. The colour drained from the boy's face, for it was unexpected. The father demanded an answer in a high pitch, and the classroom of a few kids fell silent. The boy swallowed hard & answered, "We were playing, accidentally I hit her & my nails scratched her. I did not pinch." The father looked at the daughter for a response. She only shook her head. The father yelled at the boy, "How can so many scratches happen accidentally only on her hand? That too while playing?" The boy continued to deny it, but the father was relentless. Eventually, the boy uttered, "Sorry, it won't happen again." The father was ready to breathe fire & burn him down right there but held his temper. The father looked at her daughter, who swelled with pride. The father kissed her on the forehead, assured her that it was good & left the classroom.

No sooner did the father leave than the boy's true nature surfaced. The boy threatened, "Oh! Do you think I am scared of your father? Did you see how I fooled him?" The girl's smiling face transformed into a teary one in no time & she looked down at the floor. The boy continued to threaten & suddenly he screamed. The girl looked up to see her father, who boxed the boy's ear. The father declared, "I knew you would do this. That's why I was hiding outside the classroom. Now come to the principal's office. I will show you who fooled who." The little girl couldn't hold back her tears. She ran up to her father & hugged, "Daddy!"

Take away: My daddy, my hero.