The COLD TOUCH

For 52-year-old Ankita, the Covid-19 pandemic left scars deeper than most could imagine. While the world grappled with uncertainty and grief, Ankita was struck twice as hard — first, battling the virus herself, and then losing her beloved father to a slow, heart-wrenching decline into dementia.

Confined to her home in Hyderabad during India’s strict nationwide lockdown, Ankita couldn’t even attend his funeral. The helplessness gnawed at her. Nothing could ease the raw ache left by the news of her father’s passing.

“He had been seriously ill for 22 days. When he finally left us, I cried through the day — so much so that I don’t even remember how the next day passed,” Ankita shares.

The day of his last rites, Ankita sat in her room, overwhelmed, tears streaming uncontrollably. That’s when something inexplicable happened.

“I suddenly felt an ice-cold touch on my hand, and instantly, goosebumps rose all over my body. Bewildered, I looked around — but no one was there. In that fleeting moment, I sensed my father’s presence. As if he was right beside me, comforting me, saying, ‘I’m still here.’”
 

It lasted only two or three seconds, but it changed something deep inside her. The invisible, cold touch, first frightening, quickly turned into a strange reassurance. She wiped her tears, feeling as if her father’s soul was soothing her pain.

Neither her husband nor her son, who were in the next room, knew what had happened. But over the following weeks, Ankita felt her father’s spirit in other ways — through vivid dreams that left her both unsettled and strangely comforted.

In one dream, she saw him wearing white clothes. Curious, she asked,

“Papaji, ab aap safed kapde pehente ho?”
And he replied with a gentle smile,
“Haan beta. Yahan zyada thand hoti hai na!”
(“Yes, my child. It’s much colder here.”)
 

After that, the dreams stopped. Yet Ankita felt a quiet knowing settle in her heart — that he was at peace, watching over her, still part of her life’s journey in an unseen but deeply felt way.