Coping with the loss of your significant other is the toughest thing ever. It’s an irreparable loss. Every couple dreads it. It’s painful to even think about it. We came across a post on Humans of New York, which narrates an eternal love story of a husband and wife.
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
In the post, the couple’s daughter shares anecdotes of her parents’ love for each other that defines what ‘till death do us part’ actually looks like. “He had five daughters. And whenever he came home from a work trip, we’d all line up to give him a kiss. But he always kissed my mom first, because she was his ‘first love.’ Then he went on to his ‘second love,’ and his ‘third love’,” she recalls.
The daughter further recounts moments from her childhood when the entire family used to go for road trips and her father would sing to her mother throughout the journey. She said, “On weekends we’d all pile into the car and take these long road trips. We’d drive for hours, and the whole way he’d be singing to my mother. It was a normal thing for us because we were used to it. But that kind of affection wasn’t normal in our culture. We used to have these karaoke parties with our extended family, and everyone else would sing normal songs.”
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
She reminisced about her dad’s preference for old classic romantic Bollywood songs and how he’d sing directly to her mom who loved every second of it. Talking about how her mom used to dress up for her father, she said, “She’d get dressed up for him. She’d put on her brightest red lipstick. And she’d do her hair just as he liked it—even after she got sick.”
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
However, their world turned upside down when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent several surgeries. “The tumor was deep in her brain. After every surgery, more and more of her would slip away. When she couldn’t walk properly anymore, she grew embarrassed about her limp. So Papa held her hand wherever they went. He’d sit next to her bed, and stroke her cheek, and recite the Quran until his lips went dry. Some nights he’d fall asleep sitting up in his chair, but then he’d wake up, and begin praying again,” she added.
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
In her final moments, the daughter reminisces, her father leaned close to her mom and whispered: ‘You won’t be alone. I’m coming with you.’ She recounts, “I heard him say it. And I got so angry. It seemed selfish to me—as if the rest of us weren’t worth living for. But all his children were grown. Most of us had our own families. And I guess he felt like there was nothing left for him.”
Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
After her mom’s demise, her father visited her grave, every day. He applied for the plot next to her, and every few hours he’d inquire if the cemetery had called. “He was obsessed. When the paperwork finally arrived— I rolled my eyes. But he got very quiet. For the next two days, he barely said a word,” she added.
On the third day, he said he wasn’t feeling well. “I bent down to help him with his shoes, but he collapsed on the floor. There wasn’t time for him to suffer. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was already gone,” she concludes.
If this isn’t true devotion, we don’t know what is!
Lead Image Credit: Humans Of New York, Instagram
