I watched the sun set in the horizon, the mighty scarlet ball of fire trying to hide behind the mountains, making the sky saffron. Birds were chirping and fluttering their wings.

"Such a beautiful sight!" I thought.
"Doctor! This lady..." someone interrupted.

I ran - trying to locate the voice in that hall crowded with people - sick, tired, frustrated, and some even dead. Rushing through the crowd, I found her . the nurse, eyes full of terror, pressing her hand against the woman's chest, to bring back life into the body. I checked her pulse, but it refused to respond at all.

I looked at her eyes, they were open. An icy cold stare towards the roof. I told the nurse to stop. Her efforts were futile. She could not bring back life. I closed the woman's eyes.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard a tiny voice, "When will Mommy get up?"

There was a tiny girl . as tiny as her voice, wearing a crumpled, pink dress, her untidy hair tied into two ponytails with ribbons. I guess she was barely five. Her eyes were glinting with tears.

I went down on my knees and took her in my arms to the balcony. I didn't just know what to say to her. She was so small that her mind could not differentiate between the living and the dead.

"Where is Mommy?"

"She... is just... asleep." I bit my tongue, having said that lie.

"When will she get up?"

"It will be a long time, I guess," I lied to her again.

Satisfied with that answer, she kept quiet. The earthquake had destroyed everything. Every single hope and aspiration was smashed into bits. This was just another camp I had to visit to witness the sufferings of the people.

"I want to get wet! Mommy never lets me do it, I want to get wet!"

And the very next moment, she was dancing in the rain. I joined her. I looked at her, she was full of joy. So strange is a child's mind. So simple are the emotions. Soon the rain stopped and the clouds melted away, displaying millions of stars twinkling underneath.

Faraway stars !!

Thank You