Agra, Jan. 16 -- At an age when most children depend on adults for comfort, a 10-year-old boy sat alone at the post-mortem house in Etah on Thursday morning, waiting beside his mother's body. His father had died of HIV last October. Now, his mother was gone too. For more than a month, the child had been managing her treatment on his own, handling hospitals, ambulances and paperwork while quietly carrying the weight of social stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. Relatives arrived only later in the day. "My mother was suffering from tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS," the boy said softly. "I took her for treatment in Etah and then to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and to a hospital in Kanpur in ambulances that were arranged. But she did not get better and died today." He said he could not inform his uncle immediately and continued his mother's treatment alone. "My father also died because of HIV last year. I stayed with my mother and tried everything," he added. The sight of the child sitting quietly at the mortuary drew attention from passers-by and mediapersons, many of whom were moved by his calm narration of loss far beyond his years. CMO Dr Rajendra Prasad said the woman had been treated for tuberculosis in 2017 and had recovered, though details of her subsequent medical history were not immediately available. After the matter came to light, the DM directed tehsil officials to reach the boy's village and ensure that all arrangements for the last rites are made, so the child does not face further hardship. htc...