A Chance Meeting With...
RITIKA This 7-year-old girl would come to church with her grandma. Her parents were in Dubai. It was just her, her sister who had just been born, and her grandma living in Trivandrum. I don’t remember the first time we met. I just know she would always come to me with an excited face and hold my hand. Her grandma would be at the back of the church holding her sister. Ritika would come to the front during the holy mass with a big smile aimed at me and would stand in front of me. I remember teaching her action songs, taking her with me to church carols, and going to her house to sing carols. She used to ask her grandma if she could stay longer in the church so that she could spend time with us. I was Renu Chechi to her. When I moved to Australia in 2017, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her. Years later in 2021, I remember asking one of my cousins, who attended the same church, about Ritika. I wanted to know how she was and if she still attended Sunday School. My cousin didn’t