My wife died in a plane crash and that’s when my entire life turned upside down. Even 23 years after that faithful call that she was among the passengers who didn’t make it, my heart ached with the same intensity.
As I was placing the red roses on the grave, crying over my fate, I received a call from my boss. He asked me to go to the airport and pick up the new hire from Germany, a young woman named Elsa.
Soon after, I was standing at the airport, holding a sign with the name ELSA written on it when I experienced the strangest feeling. Elsa looked crazily familiar. She was way younger than me, 23 years to be exact, but there was something in her voice and eyes that tugged at a buried part of my soul.
She was cheerful and eager to start working at the company and meet everyone at the office.
“Elsa, today is Thursday, and the team usually does lunch together on Thursdays. You are welcome to join us,” I said, and Elsa was more than happy to accept the offer.
The lunch was more fun than usual, Elsa’s jokes had everyone in stitches, and most of the colleagues noticed that she and I had the same sense of humor and made quirky jokes.
Over the next few months, Elsa became a trusted colleague and a great friend.
One day, she knocked on my office’s door and said, “Abraham, I showed my mom your picture. She really wants to meet my American family. I mean you,” she said with a smile. I loved her choice of words because I started considering her family too.
After a few days, Elsa, her mom Elke, and I went to a nice restaurant. We chatted and I enjoyed their company. But then, Elsa excused herself to the bathroom and Elke grabbed me by my shoulder.
“Don’t you dare look at my daughter that way,” she hissed.
“Excuse me!?” I said, stunned at her words.
“I know everything, Abraham,” Elke said, and I was totally confused.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Let me tell you a story about love and betrayal,” she began.
Elke spoke about a woman who loved her husband dearly. She loved him so much that she tracked down his old friend with whom he hadn’t spoken in years in an attempt to help them make amends. The woman asked the friend, Patrick, to help her plan her husband’s birthday and he be the surprise guest.
“How do you know about Patrick!?” I asked, stunned and a bit scared. But Elke told me to stay silent and listen.
She continued by saying that the husband’s sister took photos of the woman and Patrick and make it look like they were having an affair. Sadly, the husband believed his sister, and accused his wife of cheating, not knowing she was carrying his child. The woman decided to leave and take a flight to a foreign country, but then…
“But then the plane crashed,” I finished, realizing the woman sitting next to me was my own wife.
“Yes, the plane crashed, and I was mistaken for a passenger named Elke. I somehow ended with her passport in my hand, and since I had burns on my body and face, they couldn’t recognize me.
“But how is that possible,” I barely found a strength to ask.
My wife explained that Elke’s family took her in and helped her rebuild her life.
“And Elsa…what about Elsa?” I asked.
“Elsa is your daughter,” she confessed while tears started rolling down her face.
All this time I believed my wife died in a plane crash, while she was alive and raising our daughter.
She went on to tell me about all the corrective surgeries she was forced to undergo in order to rebuild her face.
At that moment, Elsa returned and saw both of us crying.
Her mom took her by the hand and told her to get out so that they could talk.
After what felt like hours, Elsa returned and said, “Dad!?” She then hugged me tightly.
No apology was sufficient enough to repair the trust that I shattered when I decided to trust my sister over my wife.
I knew things could never be the same after that much time, but my wife was willing to take everything slowly and see where life would lead us.
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.
Bored Daddy
Love and Peace