**Forgive Me, Daughter**
“Emily, Emmy, wait Ive been waiting for you all morning. The childrens home gave me your address” A strangers voice stopped Emily just as she stepped out of her building.
“Who are you?!” she asked, glancing instinctively at her watch.
“Im your your dad, Emmy,” the man said hesitantly, forcing a smile.
“Youve got the wrong person. I dont have a father. Never did.” Her tone was icy as she turned away, hurrying toward her car parked nearby. Outwardly, she kept her composure. Inside, her heart pounded, her cheeks burning as though radiating heat.
She slid into the drivers seat, buckled up, and turned the ignition.
“Emily, Emmy, please I just want to talk”
The man rushed toward the car, arms outstretchedor so it seemedbut she pulled away, leaving him standing bewildered on the pavement, watching her disappear down the road.
At the petrol station, she grabbed a coffee and dialled her husband.
“James, some lunatic was outside the flat When you take Oliver out, keep an eye on him, alright?” She fought to steady her voice.
“Em, what lunatic?” James sounded amused.
“How should I know? Just some bloke!”
“Maybe an admirer?” he teased.
“Not funny. Im heading off now.”
“Have a good day, love. Ill watch Ollie like a hawk.”
“Thanks”
She hung up, speeding toward work, her heart restless all day.
Emily truly had no fatherbiologically, yes, but shed never known him. Raised in a childrens home, her memories of her mother were faint, just fragments from early childhood.
Later, the carers told her shed been placed there after her mothers deatha young woman lost to illness. No relatives stepped forward, so Emily was shuffled between shelters before landing in the home.
Her childhood wasnt happyno ones was, in carebut shed been luckier than most. The home was decent, the staff kind. Most children were abandoned or taken from unfit parents. Few had lost their mothers like Emily had.
In a way, she took comfort knowing her mother hadnt chosen to leave her. But she envied the otherstheir mothers were alive, somewhere. They could hope. Emily had no one to wait for. By adulthood, shed decided: her father had left when he learned of the pregnancy. Shed never mattered to him.
“Em, why so glum?” her colleague Lucy asked at lunch.
“Just tired,” Emily lied with a smile.
Truthfully, the mornings encounter haunted her. Could that man really be her father? Why now? The thoughts swarmed like wasps, refusing to settle. By evening, shed steeled herself: *Ive lived fine without him. Why should a stranger upend my life now? I have a familyJames and four-year-old Ollie. The rest doesnt matter.*
With that, she drove home, certain the man would be gone, life returning to normal. She was wrong.
“Im back,” she called from the hallway.
“Finally! We were waiting,” James answered from the kitchen.
“How was your first day off? Not regretting pulling Ollie from nursery?”
“Nah, we had a blast. Watching telly now. Em, that man this morning hes your dad.”
“James, dont start”
“He explained”
“I dont care what he said! Whyd you even talk to him? Even if he *is* my father, I dont need him now. Where was he when I was in care? Drop it, James. I wont discuss this!”
Sleep evaded her that night, even with pills. The next morning, she made breakfast, woke James, and left for workonly to find the man waiting again.
“Emily, wait! Five minutes, thats all! I never knew you existed”
“If you dont stop harassing me, Ill call the police!”
She slid into the car and sped off, leaving him staring after her once more.
Work was impossible, her mind tangled in thoughts of her parents. At home that evening, unfamiliar voices stopped her in the hall. James sat at the kitchen table with *him*.
“James, have you lost your mind?!” She bit back a shout, mindful of Ollie.
“Em, hear him out. David Whitaker just wants to talk. He never knew about you. You always say everyone deserves a second chance.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Emmy, dont cry. Its trueI had no idea. My mother only told me on her deathbed that I had a daughter. I loved your mum, and she loved me. But life it wasnt simple. I failed you. Let me explain.”
Trapped, Emily sat. David began.
*”I met your mum, Anna, by chance. She worked at a shop near where I lived with my parents. We fell fast, planned to marry after my service. But when Anna came to my motherpregnantMum turned her away, called her an orphan unfit for our family. Later, she wrote to me, claiming Anna had married someone else. I believed her. I never returned home after the army. Only before Mum died did she confessAnna had a daughter.”*
Emily wept silently as he spoke.
“Dont cry, love. Ive no excuses, but Im beggingforgive me. Dont send me away. Ive seen where you grew up found Annas grave. After my parents died, I thought I was alone. Now Ive a daughter, a grandson. Im selling my place up north. The family home hereits yours.”
Later, after David left, James asked, “Whatll you do?”
“I dont know.”
“Hes leaving tomorrow to finalise things. Maybe see him off at the station?”
“Well decide in the morning.”
The next day, Emily, James, and Ollie stood on the platform. She spotted David first. Their eyes metand for the first time, she smiled at him. He slowed, smiling back.
Minutes later, David held Ollie in his arms.
“Ill be back for good in a month. Well sort the paperwork for the house then.”
“Theres time,” Emily said softly.
“Forgive me, love,” he murmured.
Her tears came again. David hugged her, and in that embrace, she felt something unfamiliara fathers love, safety, peace.
“Id best go,” he said sadly.
“Come back soon.”
“I will. Ive been alone too long. Now Ive a family I want to make up for lost time.”
In the car home, Emily turned to James. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“If not for you, Id never have spoken to him.”
“Youre the one who always says everyone deserves forgiveness.”
“Everyone does,” she agreed, smiling.
A month later, David returned for good. Emily forgave him, accepted the house, and welcomed the father whod become a steady presence in their lives.
