Pratibha is an LKG student at Moontara Boarding School at Rajha, Nepalgunj. Now orphaned by the flood, it is unlikely her father´s dream will ever come true. She had talked to her mother over the phone less that a day before the tragedy. [break]
During the phone conversation, her mother Mankala had told her,“"Study hard. Listen to your aunt. If you study, we will fulfill your wishes”" But Mankala is no longer around to fulfill her daughter´s wishes.
Mankala sent her daughter to Nepalgunj though her sons studied in a school in Dolpa itself.
The flood swept away Mankala, her two-year-old daughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, husband, two sons, sister-in-law and son-in-law. Pratibha is the only member of the family still alive now.
In her phone conservation with her mother, Pratibha had said she would arrive home next Dashain, according to her aunt Bishnu Kumari Bohara, who looks after her in Nepalgunj.
No one has told Pratibha about the tragedy that has struck her family. "If I break down in tears, she might guess what has happened. But it´s hard to hold back the tears," Bishnu Kumari said.
Despite not being told of the tragedy, Pratibha has been showing uncharacteristic behavior since the tragedy, according to Bishnu Kumari. She complains of nightmares and has taken to offering worship to the gods.
"She says she wants to talk to her parents over the phone. She says they have been swept away by flood," said Bishnu Kumari.
Lal Bahadur earned his living as a farmer.
There is no one to pay Pratibha´s monthly tuition fee of Rs 430, apart from paying for stationery. More than that, there is no one now to give her the paternal love she needs.
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