I remember opening my mouth to say, “No daddy, this is not the way in which we want to learn to do things.” But, I couldn’t say those words because I woke up. I woke up and everything was the same. You weren’t there, it was time for school and mom was asking me to hurry up. I spent the whole day trying to come to terms with the fact that it was just a dream, a beautiful dream.

This happened to me 15 years ago and I still remember what my mom said when I finally told her about my dream, before going to bed again that night. She said, “Beta, don’t be sad. You should be happy. Daddy came to meet you. He came to tell you that he is still with you. He always has been and he always will be.”

Years later, when it was time for me to get married, I declared that I wanted to marry an Army Officer. Many people asked me why. “Didn’t you see what happened with your father?” and I said, “Yes. All you see is that we lost the man of the house who left behind three women all alone. But you know what I see? I see that he performed his duties until his last breath, died a glorious death and left behind three very strong women to take care of themselves. There is no other way to look at it.”

“Where did you guys derive the strength from?” I can’t count the number of times we have been asked this. So, I’ll say what I always do, “Who says he left us?”