Chapter 2: Steve was Different

Areen always wanted to name our child Steve; I don’t know why. We never had a brawl or even an argument regarding naming the baby. It is not that I was not interested, but I do not know.

Scene: Steve’s 1st birthday

We all were excited; happiness had finally blessed us. From a tiring and unfortunate last year, we as a family geared up for something exciting and eventful. Steve is going to be one year old. He is growing up in a calm and meditative environment fostered by his grannies. For some reason, Areen was into Hindu Vedic culture and had read Hindu holy books like Geeta and Ramayana. She must be absolutely delighted seeing that.

Before the party, all the invited kids were playing on our lawn. A scene has been created: A kid running around fell and badly hurt his knees. It was all swollen up, and tension surfaced on everyone’s face. The injured boy was with my mother-in-law, who had come to the party without his parents. Later on, I came to know he lives with his grandparents as his parents died on the same day last year when Steve was born.

That news did bother me, and additional emotions surfaced for the injured boy. We were trying to console and comfort him; my father came up with an ice pack. After a few minutes, he felt alright, though he still had bruises on his knees. Just to keep him distracted, we decided to keep him in our proximity and near Steve.

We got busy with the arrangements and the cake, and a few minutes later, I found that kid playing and laughing with little Steve, and he was responding, too. The kid was calm as if nothing had happened to him a few minutes earlier. Seeing a pure love bond flourishing between two little ones felt good.

I just checked the boy's swollen knee—it was gone! I was surprised. I asked him, "Do you feel any pain?" "No," the boy said. It was an extraordinary experience for me and a little start to witness small miracles around little Steve. At this point, calling Steve a healer would be a little exaggeration. Be ready for these surprises as I unfold the story.

A weird thing happened that evening. Steve suddenly fell sick, and we quickly rushed to the hospital to consult a doctor. He said, "Nothing to worry about; the baby is a little exhausted and needs rest. That sight has summed up our day: full of excitement and need some rest.

Stay tuned for more