With You Inside Our Hearts

Dearest Aabi,

I never thought I would be speaking like this…

Not once did any of us imagine we’d have to put words to this kind of pain.

Not once did we think the center of our home, our joy, our laughter… would suddenly be missing.

As time moves forward, we are trying to live alongside life again.

But the truth is…

The house feels different.

It’s quieter.

There are no daily stories about 'What Aabi did today.'

No mischief. No laughter echoes down the hallway.

You left behind a silence that is louder than anything else."

"I read something recently… and it instantly reminded me of you.

Of bhabhi (your mum), carefree, lighthearted, deeply devoted to her daughters.

The way everything changed the moment the younger one was born, it was as if the whole universe shifted.

Her entire world began and ended with her two girls.

And we all saw it.

We all learned from her.

We saw how life should be lived: fully, freely, with joy that doesn’t ask for permission.

"I’m not depressed.

I’m not even sad all the time.

I laugh. I talk. I show up.

And most days… I seem perfectly fine.

But deep down… I know.

Something inside me has changed.

Life took something from me.

Maybe a part of my spirit…

Maybe the version of me… who still believed good things always last.

Whatever it was… It’s gone.

And because of that,

My smile doesn’t shine as brightly as it used to.

There’s no light behind it anymore… just habit.

People think I’m okay… because I look okay.

But they don’t hear the noise in my head.

They don’t feel the weight I carry in silence.

It’s not that I’m broken. I still function.

But I’m not the same.

And some nights, I wonder…

If I ever feel like that old version again."

"Aabi…

If you’re watching from somewhere, I hope you know how deeply you are missed.

Not a day goes by without thinking of you.

You left behind love, laughter, and memories we’ll carry forever…

But also a space that no one else can fill.

You weren’t just a part of the family, you were the heart of it.

And though life continues to move…

We’re still learning how to move with it, without you.

We love you.

We miss you.

And we carry you with us, always."