It was that day of the year; the day Ben lost his wife and a 13-year-old girl lost his mother. The circled date on the calendar brought memories of the day Emma lost her life in a terrifying accident. It’s been five years without her bubbly personality, without her laughter that filled the air, without her kindness and gentle warmth that made everyone feel at home.
“Eliza, I will go to cemetery,” Ben told his daughter, who was never the same since her mom’s passing.
“Okay, dad,” Eliza said and went into her room, unable to get engaged in a conversation.
Ben stopped by the flower shop. He purchased a huge bouquet of white roses, just like the ones he always took to his late wife’s grave.
As he was driving, he remembered the first time he bought Winter white roses. It was on their third date. Her eyes opened wide, she couldn’t hide her smile, and gave Ben a hug. “White roses are my favorite, how did you know?” she asked. Ben just smiled and was glad he could make her happy.
All those memories kept coming, making the day even harder for Ben who was burdened with a feeling of guilt for Winter’s loss.
As he entered the cemetery, the black marble and the gold letters Winter’s name was engraved with brought him back to reality.
He knelt by the grave, placed the flowers, and started crying. “I miss you, Winter. God, I miss you so much.”
Ben knew that no amount of wishing would get his wife back. He needed to be strong for their daughter who carried her mother’s absence like a silent shadow.
He brushed the dirt from his knees and drove back home.
The house was silent. Eliza wasn’t home, so he decided to pour himself a cup of strong coffee. However, the moment he entered the kitchen, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw.
There, in the middle of the kitchen table, was the vase. Inside were the flowers he placed on his wife’s grave. Those were exactly the same flowers, with the same slight imperfections and the same dewdrops clinging to the petals.
When Eliza returned home, he asked, her about the flowers.
Eliza said she had no idea what he was talking about. “What flowers, dad. I hadn’t seen them before. I have been out with my friends. Are you sure these are the same flowers you took to mom’s grave?”
Ben was more than sure. It felt like someone was playing tricks on his mind. The confusion was unsettling, making him wonder if he was losing touch with the world around him.
He grabbed the car keys and went straight back to the cemetery. The flowers weren’t there. The shock grew bigger. Was he dreaming? What was going on?
He returned home once again, saw the flowers in the vase, and started questioning his sanity. At that moment, he grabbed the vase and noticed a note underneath it. It read: “I know the truth, and I forgive you. But it’s time for you to face what you’ve hidden.”
Ben froze. There was someone there who knew his secret and was now playing with his brain.
Eliza grabbed the note and said, “Dad, what truth? What have you been hiding?”
With a shaky voice, Ben said, “Your mother… The night she died… it wasn’t just an accident.”
“What do you mean?” Eliza asked.
Forcing himself to look at his daughter’s eyes, Ben continued, “We had a fight that night. A big one. She found out I’d been having an affair.”
“An affair?” Eliza yelled. “You cheated on mom?”
Embarrassed, Ben said he had, but he now regretted even getting involved with another woman.
When Winter learned of the affair, she was in distress, so she got inside the car and started driving. That’s when she got involved in the crash that claimed her life.
Ben couldn’t live with the feeling of guilt, but he didn’t have the courage to tell Eliza the truth. He didn’t want her to hate him.
But, it turned out that Eliza knew the truth the entire time. She stumbled upon her mom’s diary and read about her suspicions of her husband’s affair. There, she wrote that if those rumors were true, she was willing to forgive him, but it was Eliza who couldn’t forgive her father.
It was her who took the flowers from her mom’s grave and brought them home. She wanted to see her father’s reaction; she wanted him to take the blame for forcing her mother into her death.
Eliza left the kitchen, leaving Ben alone with the white roses that once symbolized the love he had for his late wife.
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Bored Daddy
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