A token of love

My daughter was studying in class II in a primary school close by to my house. My wife brought her daily from the school in the after noon. Whenever it was a holiday for me or if I were at home I invariably went to the school instead of my wife to fetch the young girl. It may be three or four times a month. When she saw me at the gate she would come running with a large smile in her face. I always took a Cadbury’s chocolate that I handed over to her. She would in turn give me her bag, snack box and water bottle. This became almost a ritual with her always expecting a chocolate from me. She saw in this happy routine the love and affection that I had for her. The piece of chocolate acted as a medium to demonstrate my warmth and fondness for the little girl. Even when she grew to be a college going girl, she often reminisced with fond memories of this habit of mine.
Years flew by. She got married and went abroad. In due course she became a mother of two children. It was then that I suffered a massive heart attack.Luckly I was in good care of doctors within an hour. But the condition became worse and was put in Intensive Care Unit. My daughter took the next available flight to come to India. Luckily things stabilized meanwhile though I continued to remain in the ICU. When my wife told me that our daughter would be coming to see me that day, I expressed a wish which she complied with immediately.
When my daughter came into the ICU in the evening during the visiting hours, I could see from her eyes that she had cried. There was a look of anxiety and worry writ large on her face. Her attempt to smile was a feeble grin. She was possibly told that I was still critical but out of immediate threat. She held my hand and told me not to worry and that I would soon be well and back home. I signaled to her to take out a thing from under my pillow .She took out the neatly wrapped packet in colour paper. When she opened and saw a cake of Cadbury’s chocolate, she wept with surprise and delight. I could see a large smile on her face. The chocolate to her represented her dad’s love and support for her.