"The Footsteps That Never Returned", A poem by Gouravi from BSc ZCFS III YEAR .

The Footsteps That Never Returned

He went to the hospital...

And somehow, he never came back home.

People say, "Be strong." People say, "Time heals."

But they don't know what it feels like to wait for footsteps that never return.

They don't know how a child learns to smile in front of everyone, yet cries only in the silence of empty rooms.

Birthdays become quieter. Festivals feel heavier. Even achievements lose a little of their joy.

Because no matter how old you grow, there is always a part of you that still looks for your father.

The world moves on. Life continues.

But a child who loses a father loses more than a person— they lose their shelter, their guide, their safest place.

Years may pass, and the tears may become less visible, but the emptiness never truly leaves.

Some wounds do not heal; they simply learn to live inside the heart.

And that pain...

that longing...

is something only a fatherless child can truly understand.