My name is Priya Sharma.

Our family lives in a quiet, two-storey residential area in Bengaluru – a place that is sunny during the day and the sounds of children, but at night it is so quiet that you can clearly hear the ticking of the clock on the drawing room wall.

My husband and I have only one daughter—Anaya, eight years old.

 

From the very beginning, we decided that we would have only one child.
Not because we were selfish.
Not because we were afraid of difficulties.
But because we wanted to give our full potential, all the time and all the love to that one child.

We bought this house after about ten years of savings. We opened an education fund for Anaya when she was in her lap. I even started thinking about her college and career when she didn’t even know how to read properly.

But most of all, I wanted to make him self-sufficient.

A baby girl who slept alone from a very young age

When Anaya was still in play-school, I made her the habit of sleeping alone in my room.

It wasn’t because I loved him any less.
But because I knew—a child doesn’t grow strong as long as he clings to the arms of an older man every night.

Anaya was the most beautiful in the whole house.

— A large double bed, with
a high-quality mattress — a
closet full of storybooks and comics — Neatly decorated soft toys
— light, warm yellow light night lamps.

Every night I would tell him a story, give him a light kiss on the forehead and turn off the lights.

Anaya has never been afraid to sleep alone.

As long as… Not one morning came.

“Mom, my bed seemed so cramped last night…”

That morning, while I was making breakfast in the kitchen, Anaya came out brushing her teeth, ran up to me, clasped me to my waist, and said in a drowsy voice—

“Mom… I didn’t sleep well last night. ”

I looked at him with a smile.

“Why, son?”

Anaya frowned and thought for a moment, then said—

“My bed… It felt too tight. ”

I laughed.

“You have a big bed and you sleep alone. How can it be tight? Did you leave your toys or books in bed?”

Anaya nodded gently.

“No, Mom. I kept everything in order. ”

I stroked his head affectionately, thinking it would be a trivial childish thing.

But… I was wrong.

Same words, over and over again.

Two days later.
Then three days later.
Then a whole week.

Every morning Anaya would say something like this—

“Mom, I couldn’t sleep.
“My bed seemed too small.
“It was like someone was pushing me aside.” ”

And then one morning he asked a question that sent a chill through my veins—

“Mom… Did you come to my room at night?”

I bent down and looked into his eyes.

“Nope.” Why are you asking that?”

Anaya was silent for a while.

“Because… It was like someone was lying next to me. ”

I forced a smile and kept my voice normal.

“You must have dreamed. Mom slept with my dad last night. ”

But after that moment…
My own sleep changed forever.

Decision to install a camera

Initially, I thought Anaya must be having nightmares.

But as a mother, I could clearly see the fear in her eyes.

I spoke to my husband, Rohan Sharma—who is a surgeon and often returns home late at night after a long shift at the hospital.

After listening to me, he smiled lightly.

“Children make fantasies. Our home is safe… Nothing like that can happen here. ”

I didn’t argue.

I just put a camera on.

A small, invisible camera—in a corner of the ceiling of Anaya ‘s room.
Not to see him…
To console yourself.

That night, Anaya slept peacefully.

The bed was completely clean.
No toys.
No book.
Nothing was occupying the place.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Until 2 a.m.

2 a.m. — a moment I’ll never forget

I felt thirsty and opened my eyes.

Walking through the drawing room, I habitually opened the live feed of the camera on my phone—just to see that all was well.

And then…

I froze.

On the screen, the door to Anaya s room slowly opened.

A figure came in.

Lean body.
Grey hair.
Slow, staggering steps.

I put my hand over my mouth. My heart began to beat loudly, when I understood—

She was my mother-in-law… Sushila Sharma.

She went straight to Anaya s bed.
Very carefully picked up her quilt.

And then…
She lay down next to him.

Like…
That bed should be their own.

Anaya shook sleepily, sliding towards the edge of the mattress. Eyebrows furrowed, but his sleep did not break.

And me…

She cried without making a sound.

A woman who sacrificed her whole life for her son

My mother-in-law was 78 years old.

Rohan was widowed when she was just seven years old.

For the next forty years, they did not marry again.

He did every little thing—

— Cleaning other people’s
homes — Laundry
— Selling tiffins and snacks in the morning

Everything…
Just to raise your son and become a doctor.

Rohan once told that
there were days in his childhood when his mother herself ate only dry bread…
But he must bring meat or fish.

When Rohan went to medical college, she would send him Rs. 500-1000 in letters every month – neatly folded.

For yourself…

She always lived a very simple life.
So simple that it hurts the heart.

The silent disease of old age

Over the years, my mother-in-law’s memory had begun to decline.

— On one occasion she lost her way and cried near the temple
until midnight — once, as she was eating, she suddenly looked at me and asked:
“Who are you?”
— Many times she started calling me by the name of her late husband’s wife

We took him to the doctor.

The doctor said very gently—

“Early stage Alzheimer’s.” ”

But we never thought that at night she would start roaming around the house.

And I didn’t think at all…

She will lie down in her granddaughter’s bed.

When we big people finally woke up

The next morning, I showed Rohan the recording of the camera.

He didn’t say anything for a long time.

Then his voice broke.

“Maybe he remembers those days…
When I was younger…”

Rohan held my hand tightly.

“It’s my fault.
I was so engrossed in work that I forgot —
my mother is slowly losing herself. ”

After that, Anaya slept with us for several nights.

And my mother-in-law…

We never blamed.

We loved them more than ever.

A decision that changed everything

We decided—

— Gently
closing the door of Anaya at night — installing
motion sensors throughout the house — and most importantly: never putting my mother-in-law to sleep alone again

We moved his room to our room.

I sat next to him every night.
I would talk to them.
Listening to their memories.
Make them feel that they are safe.

Because sometimes, the elderly need more than medicines—

To know that his family is still with him.

end

My daughter’s bed was never small.

In fact…

An old woman—
who was alone,
lost in her own memories—

She was just looking
for the warmth of the baby she had once carried in her arms all her life.

the end