William

"After my mother died, everything changed."

I was still young, and didn't understand life well, but I could see my father trying with all his might to fill the void. He worked all day, coming back tired and exhausted, but his eyes were always full of determination. He wanted to make up for everything, to be both a father and a mother.

That night, we sat together watching an old movie on the dingy couch. The house was strangely quiet, the dim light adding to the loneliness and longing. I was thinking a lot... not about the movie, but about tomorrow. About my need for money, about expenses, about school, about many things beyond my age.

I suddenly looked at him and said, "Dad... can I ask you something?" He turned to me and smiled tiredly: "Of course, say it, my love."