Momentary lapse!

72/100

It only makes sense that I write about the trip I am at and what all I did today and I was going to, but unfortunately something so shocking just happened right in front of my eyes that I cannot possibly think about my day. We were having our dinner and there was also this other group at the hotel, dining besides us. It was a huge group with adults and kids, talking and eating. All normal things you’d expect at a resorts restaurant, ladies were talking and kids were running around and playing with torches. Suddenly, we saw someone from their table run across our table and towards the stairs. After that we heard people shouting and running, to get out of the dining room. I thought a snake or some animal has come in because we were near to the beach so I stood up and went towards the group to ask what is wrong, in the meanwhile I saw a lady shout one name, again and again, and she dashed towards the stairs. It was then we got to know that one of the kids has fallen down from the dining area which was almost at 25 feet. I rushed towards the corner where he fell and asked all other kids to move aside so they are safe. From top, I could see the kid lying on the grass. There was no noise from the kid, not during the fall, neither after it. I was really scared. I saw his mom and dad reach him, his mom calling his name the entire time she was running. When he was picked from the floor by his dad, only then did start crying. He was probably silent due to the shock from the fall. I was so relieved to hear him cry, I cannot express. His mouth had cuts and his parents are doctors so they were checking him, local hospital was called to inform a kid will be brought in and in sometime they took him away. During the time they were checking him, he did not stop crying for even one minute and my heart was sinking more and more at the delay they were doing taking him to the hospital. Finally, they did leave and now we will know the update on his health in morning. There was a huge tree which obstructed the direct fall and also he fell on the grass side instead of cement, so we are hoping he is alright except for some minor injuries.

Once we left the dining room, we asked the manager on what exactly happened. None of the adults saw what happened but one kid did. In this chaos of dinner what no one noticed was how this 4 or 5 year old kid, who was also playing with a torch, had moved towards the parapet while playing. The torch rolled a little towards the edge of the parapet and the kid got on the parapet to hold the torch, instead of getting a hold of it he ended up rolling it to the edge and the torch fell. The kid probably did not realize there is no wall and in his reach for the torch, also fell. Sounds like fiction, I wish it was.

What has stuck with me in all this is, how the mom must have realized the kid is not crying after the fall and those few minutes where she realized her kid was missing and until he cried must have been so darn hard. Each second seeming like an eternity, with the fate of the most precious part of her life unknown. No one should have to face that. To me, a complete stranger, it was such a sad and traumatic experience. I cannot imagine what she felt, I don’t even want to. It seemed like the worst experience one can get as a parent, not sure if I would ever want to be one after what happened.