My daughter is not just a child going through a phase of illness; she is a story of patience being written before my eyes every single day. She is suffering from severe anemia, and this illness does not only exhaust her small body, but it sometimes steals her energy and the innocence I used to see in her daily details—in her smile, her small steps, and in her eyes that once were full of life. Yet despite everything, she still fights in a way only those who have lived through pain can understand; she gets up despite exhaustion, smiles despite fatigue, and continues her day as if she is telling the world that weakness is not the end of the road.

I sometimes see her pale and worn out, as if her small body is carrying more than it can bear, and I feel as if my own heart is the one falling ill instead of hers. Still, in every moment of pain, I discover a hidden strength that is unlike that of children—a gentle yet firm strength that makes me believe healing is near no matter how long the wait may be. She is not weak as some might think; she is a little fighter waging a silent battle with severe anemia—a battle that cannot be seen but is felt in every breath that tires her and every moment she needs rest.

Blue Beetle #12 (1942)

Painted Storks (Mycteria leucocephala), family on nest, family Ciconiidae, India

Vampire Hunter D