The son who grieves for his father

WHO is a parent? Isit only one who has a biological bond? Or can humanity be gentle enough to endearitself to the extent where strangers become maternal or paternal protectors, thus filling vacuums of sorrow with compassion and selfless love?

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The contemplation of the above came upon me after I casually asked Akitha Deshan, the ecotourism guide who had shown me the interior of Sinharaja rainforest, about the sentence tattooed upon his hand. It was an emotional phrase about a son who longs for his departed father. He answered my question by stating that it is only a few weeks since his dad passed away. I offered my condolences. After a short pause where he seemed to make an assessment whether he should elaborate further or not - and after which he finally did - he confided that his biological father had passed on when he was a child and that this dad was someone who had relocated from his home country - Switzerland - to Sri Lanka.