A Sweet Symphony
Tags: Life Lessons, Family, Daughters, Autism, Love

Photo by Sarah Mak on Unsplash

“Gooood Mooorning teacher!” the primary class echoed in unison. The class teacher had just stepped into the classroom. Michelle surfaced suddenly. She was hidden under the desk. She ran to the podium where the teacher was standing. Her shadow teacher ran behind her.

On reaching the podium Michelle turned and faced the class. Michelle waved her hands in the air. “Gooood Mooorning teacher!” the chorus continued. It resembled Zubin Mehta conducting an Orchestra.

Michelle found melody in everything. From chirping birds to falling raindrops. She had not started speaking yet. Michelle’s shadow teacher looked embarrassed. She had every right to be. After all, she was Michelle’s Mom. She offered apologies to the class teacher.

The class teacher, a young woman, beamed with joy instead. She adored Michelle. She would often say “Michelle has an X factor.” A week ago Michelle didn’t turn up for school. The teacher had become worried. That night she dreamt that Michelle had emigrated back to the school in Philadelphia. “Its the flu again” Michelle’s Mom had said. She was relieved. So was everyone else, from Watchman to the Principal.

Michelle’s Mom escorted her back to the desk. The class began. Michelle’s world beckoned her. She slowly disappeared under the desk, once again.

“Say Papa…Pa…Pa,” Michelle’s Mom said in a tone just like her class teacher. They were already home. I had come home tired from a busy day at work. Michelle gave me a quick glance. She looked down and smiled. Her smile was magical. My worries evaporated instantly.

“Michelle has started making sounds. She would speak soon,” said Michelle’s Mom. There were beautiful melodies waiting to be unlocked. Melodies that would triumph over the painful silence one day.

“Wow! wonder what will be her first words?” I asked.

“Papa, of course. I have been training her.” My wife sounded confident.

I smiled. My wife was a joy to be with. She exuded happiness in a way that was infectious. Her world now revolved around Michelle. Michelle was the bright star in her Universe. For her part, Michelle radiated a silent aura. She was a piece of heaven on earth.

Michelle’s pediatrician had suggested a MRI scan. I had agreed. Her speech was delayed. I silently remembered the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr…

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.”

“See who has come to meet Michelle from across the seas?…Papa…Pa…Pa.” The training continued. “Who will take Michelle to her favorite swing….Papa… Pa…Pa”.

Michelle came running to her Papa. She gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. It had the effect of a beautiful symphony. She then waited expectantly. She trusted her Papa to instinctively know what she wanted. My grey cells worked overtime to decipher. If only she could speak. I sang her favorite tune.

Many times I got it wrong. Michelle would never complain. She always kissed like an angel. I continued Mama’s training “Papa…..say Pa..Pa….and I will take you for a drive…and to your favorite swing in the park!”.

In the park, she pointed to her favorite swing. Her little hands stole my heart. Her little feet ran away with it. She waited for her turn near the swing. Her papa waited with her.

A few days later my wife took ill. The flu had struck again. She lay curled up in the bed. Chirpiness had taken a hit. She was too tired to speak. I tended to her. Michelle was by my side the entire day. She looked sad. She kissed me on my cheeks many times that day. I was too preoccupied to notice.

Towards the evening I found Michelle on the sofa all by herself. I walked up to her.

I said to her “Okay princess, Its time to make a wish…Papa will move heaven and earth to make it come true”.

She looked at me and spoke the first-ever words of her life.

“Mama …Ma..ma.” I heard a symphony. It was sweeter than the kiss.