When Cassie returns from a getaway with her husband and son, she walks into her home to see a cryptic message from her mother \u2014 telling her to watch a video. As Cassie presses play, her entire life changes. In the end, she\u2019s left wondering which of her parents are worthy of forgiveness.<\/p>\n
In my eyes, my father could do no wrong. He was everything I needed him to be and more. He was a businessman who was always traveling, but he ensured that he made enough time for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my little girl, Cassie,\u201d he would say, bopping my nose with his index finger. \u201cYou\u2019re the most special.\u201d<\/p>\n
My parents always went out of their way for me \u2014 ensuring that despite their busy schedules, we would have family dinner almost every night.<\/p>\n
It was the one thing that kept me grounded while both of my friends from school were in the middle of their parents\u2019 messy divorces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s trendy now,\u201d I told my mother as she cut slices of banana bread for me after school one day.<\/p>\n
\u201cCas, you cannot think that divorce is trendy,\u201d she laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s devastating and traumatic, and very few families actually keep things civil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just saying that it\u2019s trendy because a lot of kids live between two homes,\u201d I explained to her. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things we were talking about in class today.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was fourteen, and the world seemed more dramatic than it should have been.<\/p>\n
But what I didn\u2019t know was that my words seemed to be an incantation that settled over our home.<\/p>\n
A few weeks after that conversation, my father went away on a business trip. A few hours after he had been gone, there was news of his passing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d I asked. \u201cHow did he die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to tell you, Cassie,\u201d she replied. \u201cI\u2019m just saying what the paramedics told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what will we do next?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d she asked, puzzled by the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the funeral?\u201d I asked. \u201cAren\u2019t we going to have one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d my mother replied. \u201cDad wanted to be cremated and have his ashes spread at the beach. Let\u2019s do that instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t fathom why my mother would want to do that \u2014 but at the end of the day, she knew my father best. And the longer I thought about it, the more beautiful and sentimental a private ceremony at the beach felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be difficult, Cassie,\u201d my mother said when she saw me thinking about my next move.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d I said. \u201cReally. I was just thinking about it. It\u2019s a great idea, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could have fought her for a send-off that I thought would have been more appropriate. But what use would it have been? At the end of the day, we had both lost him.<\/p>\n
The months following the beach ceremony felt weighted, and I knew that I was becoming deeply depressed \u2014 my father had been our world. And his absence was felt more than anything.<\/p>\n
But, with time, I learned to live with it.<\/p>\n
Last week, I decided to book a cabin in the woods for a little family vacation. My son was adamant that camping was the new best thing, and I knew that despite the wonders of nature, I wasn\u2019t going to camp in a tent without a bathroom in sight.<\/p>\n
Instead, I thought that a cabin would be the best option \u2014 my husband, Derek, could camp outside with Drew, our son, if he insisted on it.<\/p>\n
We had a dog, therefore, I asked my mother to house-sit for the week so that we could be at peace, knowing that Romeo was taken care of.<\/p>\n
A week away was more than enough to restore my mind \u2014 and eventually, when we went back home, I was surprised to see that my mother wasn\u2019t there. In fact, it looked like she had never been there.<\/p>\n
But there, on the coffee table, was a note beneath the TV remote.<\/p>\n
Watch this, Cassie. I\u2019m sorry. \u2014 Mom<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what was in store for me, but while Derek got Drew into the bath, I put the TV on and began to watch whatever my mother had planned.<\/p>\n
The TV flickered to life, and there he was, my father, his voice a long-lost melody, his image aged but still, unmistakably him.<\/p>\n
Tears streamed down my face as the realization that he was still alive enveloped me in a mix of joy and disbelief.<\/p>\n
The video message was nothing short of unpredictable.<\/p>\n
My dear Cassie, I\u2019m still here, alive. I\u2019m so sorry for the pain that you must have felt from my loss. But it was needed. I needed to be removed from your life because of the sordid truth of my past. Your mother knows everything, please ask her for the truth.<\/p>\n
My health is on a steady decline, and I would love to see you and explain it all.<\/p>\n
Love you, Dad.<\/p>\n
Without telling Derek or Drew anything, I grabbed the car keys and ran out. I needed my mother to explain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I bet you\u2019ve got questions for me,\u201d she said, opening the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain it all,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCassie, it\u2019s heavy. You look tired from your trip; are you sure you want to do this now?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
I nodded. It was now or never. I needed to know why my father faked his own death to get out of our lives.<\/p>\n
My mother made us some tea and took out some shortbread.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarling,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll understand if you don\u2019t forgive me, but there\u2019s so much about that time that I need to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sipped my tea, trying to figure out what my mother was about to tell me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember that you were telling me about your friend\u2019s parents getting divorced. Do you remember that?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
I nodded. Of course, I did. It was the strangest thing, but it was so common when I was in school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, your father and I were not legally married. So when I told him about our conversation regarding divorce, he was actually relieved. Without being married, there would be no divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the big deal?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I found out that the real reason that we didn\u2019t get married was because your father was already married to another woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I exclaimed, almost dropping my cup. \u201cTo who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo a woman in the town where he always had his business trips.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t know?\u201d I asked, unable to believe her words.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cBut when I pressed him about it, he decided to choose that family over us. So, I told him that the story was going to be his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
We were both silent for a moment.<\/p>\n
Turns out that my mother told him that she would never tell me the truth, not when he was my favorite person. She couldn\u2019t burst my bubble in that way. And she refused to let him see me one more time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was better for you to think that it was an accident,\u201d my mother said. \u201cIt just made more sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, I understood why we didn\u2019t have a funeral for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did we throw into the sea, then?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDust,\u201d she replied with a straight face.<\/p>\n
My mother had spoken to him twice over the years. The second time being a day ago.<\/p>\n
During their meeting, my father confessed his imminent death due to illness and requested that she give me the recording. My mother, torn by guilt and love, chose to write me the note and have the recording all set for me to watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have taken the secret to my grave,\u201d she said. \u201cBut knowing that he was ill and wanted to see you just struck something in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Compelled by a need to confront the reality of my father\u2019s existence, I traveled to the state where he lived with his other family.<\/p>\n
I spent a few weeks with my father \u2014 going in and out of hospitals, watching him take an array of different medication, and growing weaker by the day.<\/p>\n
Sitting at his bedside, I listened to his stories, the regrets, the moments of joy, and the love he had for all his children \u2014 myself included.<\/p>\n
When things started to go downhill, I asked Derek to fly over with Drew. It was going to be a fleeting moment, but at least I\u2019d know that my son had met my father.<\/p>\n
A few days later, my father died.<\/p>\n
Even now, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve forgiven him for the lie of having a double life. I just know that when it came to it in the end \u2014 I wanted to spend time with him. I had shoved my feelings aside, hoping for memories that I could figure out later.<\/p>\n
But now that the dust has settled, I\u2019m trying to figure out if I should forgive my mother for lying.<\/p>\n
What would you do?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another story for you | After Celine\u2019s father dies, she is left with having to navigate the weight of her grief. Everywhere she turns, there are pieces of her father. On her many trips to the cemetery, she finds that there are always fresh flowers left.\\<\/p>\n
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.<\/p>\n
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided \u201cas is,\u201d and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Cassie returns from a getaway with her husband and son, she walks into her home to see a cryptic message from her mother \u2014 telling her to watch a video. As Cassie presses play, her entire life changes. In the end, she\u2019s left wondering which of her parents are worthy of forgiveness. In my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28191"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28193,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28191\/revisions\/28193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}