“Forgive Me, Daughter”
Emily, Emily dear, wait Ive been waiting for you all morning. They gave me your address at the childrens home The unfamiliar voice reached Emily just as she stepped out of the building.
“Who are you?” she asked, glancing at her watch out of habit.
“Im your your father, Emily,” the man said hesitantly, offering a tentative smile.
“Youre mistaken. I dont have a fathernever did,” Emily replied coldly before turning away and hurrying toward her car parked nearby. Outwardly, she kept her composure, but inside, her heart pounded violently, her cheeks burning as though her face might catch fire.
She slid into the drivers seat, fastened her seatbelt, and turned the key in the ignition.
“Emily, Emily dear, wait I just wanted to talk!” The man rushed forward, his hands outstretched, but she was already pulling away. In the rearview mirror, she watched him standing there, bewildered and visibly upset, staring after her car as it disappeared down the street.
At the petrol station, she bought coffee and dialled her husbands number.
“Ben, there was some madman by the building When you take Henry out, keep an eye on him, all right?” Emily tried to steady her voice, but it trembled all the same.
“Emily, what madman?” Ben teased lightly.
“How should I know? Just some man!”
“Maybe an admirer?” he joked.
“Listen, this isnt funny. Im leaving now.”
“Have a good daydont worry! Ill keep both eyes on Henry.”
“Right.”
She hung up and drove to work, her heart heavy all day.
Emily truly had never known a father. Of course, biologically, one existed. But she had never seen him. Shed grown up parentless in a childrens home, with only vague memories of her motherscattered fragments from early childhood.
Later, she learned from the carers that she had been placed in the home after her mothers death. Her mother had passed young from a serious illness. No relatives had come forward to take her in. So, she had been sent first to a temporary shelter, then to the childrens home.
Her childhood hadnt been happyno childs was in such a placebut she was luckier than most. The home was well-run, and the carers were kind. Most children there had been abandoned or taken from unfit parents. Few had lost their mothers, and Emily was among them.
On one hand, she always knew her mother hadnt willingly left her. On the other, she envied the othersthey still had mothers out there, alive and well. They could hope. “Maybe one day shell miss me and come back,” theyd whisper. Emily had no one to wait for. Her mother was gone, and the carers knew nothing about her father. As an adult, she decided: he had abandoned her mother when he learned of the pregnancy. He had never wanted her.
“Emily, whats got you so glum today?” her colleague Charlotte asked during lunch.
“Just tired, I suppose,” Emily lied with a weak smile.
In truth, she couldnt stop thinking about the mornings encounter. Could that man really be her father? And why appear now? The thoughts swarmed like bees, refusing to settle. But by evening, she steadied herself. She had lived just fine without a father all these years. Why should she care about some stranger now? Even if he was her father, they had no bond. She had real familyher husband Ben and four-year-old Henry. The rest was just noise.
With that, she drove home, certain the man would be gone. Life would go back to normal. But she was wrong.
“Im home,” she called from the hall.
“Oh, hello! Weve been waiting,” Ben answered from the kitchen.
“How was your first day off? Has Henry worn you out? Maybe we shouldnt have taken him out of nursery for the month?”
“No, we had a lovely time. Watching cartoons now. Emily that man from this morninghes your father,” Ben said carefully.
“Ben, dont start!”
“But he told me”
“I dont care what he told you! Why did you even talk to him? Even if he is my father, I dont need him now. Where was he when I was in the home? Thats itwere not discussing this!”
That night, she lay awake, sleepless even with pills. The next morning, she made breakfast, woke Ben, and left for work. The man was waiting again by the building.
“Emily, pleasejust five minutes! I didnt know about you!”
“If you keep harassing me, Ill call the police!”
She drove off, leaving him standing there, watching her go.
All day, thoughts of her parents clouded her mind. Work was impossible. That evening, she heard mens voices in the kitchenBen and the stranger.
“Ben, have you lost your mind?” she hissed, careful not to scare Henry.
“Emily, just hear him out. William wanted to talk. He didnt even know you existed. You always say everyone deserves forgiveness.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Emily, dont cry. I truly didnt know. My motheryour grandmotheronly told me on her deathbed that I had a daughter. I loved your mother, and she loved me. But life it wasnt simple. I failed you. Let me explain.”
There was no retreating. Emily sat beside Ben, and William began his story.
“I met your mother, Alice, by chance. She worked in a shop near where I lived with my parents. We fell in love, started courting. Then I was called up for National Service. We planned to marry when I returned. When Alice was pregnant, she went to my motheryour grandmother. But my mother turned her away, said she wouldnt have an orphan for a daughter-in-law. Later, she wrote that Alice had married another man. I was youngI believed her. After my service, I never returned home. Only before her death did my mother confessAlice had a daughter.”
Emily wept as she listened.
“Dont cry. I have no excuses, but I beg youforgive me. Dont send me away. I found out you were in the home and Alices grave. After my parents died, I thought I was alone. Now I know I have a daughter and a grandson. Ive lived away for years, but Im coming back. Ill buy a flat. My parents house is still hereI want to sign it over to you. Its yours by right.”
That evening, William left.
“What will you do?” Ben asked.
“I dont know.”
“He said hes leaving tomorrow to settle things in his town. Should we see him off at the station?”
“I dont know. Well decide tomorrow.”
The next morning, Ben, Emily, and little Henry stood on the platform. Emily spotted William first. Their eyes met, and for the first time, she smiled at him. He slowed, smiling back.
Minutes later, William held Henry in his arms.
“Ill be back for good in a month. Well sort the paperwork for the house.”
“Theres time,” Emily said softly.
“Forgive me, daughter,” William whispered again.
Emily wept. He embraced her, and for the first time, she felt a fathers lovewarm and steady, filling a void she hadnt known could be filled.
“Id better go,” William said, reluctant.
“Come back soon.”
“I will. Ive been alone all my life. Now I want to live as long as I canI have family.”
On the way home, Emily turned to Ben.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“If not for you, Id never have spoken to him.”
“You always say everyone deserves forgiveness.”
“Everyone,” she agreed, smiling.
A month later, William returned for good. Emily forgave him, accepted the house, and welcomed him into their livesa father, at last.
