After Tom finished comforting me, I was about to go back to my patient when suddenly I felt something vibrating in my coat pocket. It was my phone. Someone was calling me, and I saw that it was Rose.
"What is it, Rose? It's not every day you call me, you old hyena. I'm busy, I'll hang up now,"
I said casually.
"It's not that, Leon. It's... I just heard that your father had an accident. He's been admitted to Moon Hospital. Your mother called to reach you, but you couldn't be reached,"
she said, her voice trembling, while my heart sank.
When I was working or in class, I always used to turn off my phone so I could concentrate on my work, but now I realize that's getting me into trouble.
How is this possible? How could Dad have had an accident?
There was no time to think. I rushed to my car and drove as fast as I could, hoping to get to the hospital in time.
My heart was beating faster than ever. It was my father who had just been in an accident.
I had never been particularly close to my family and had always found it difficult to interact with others, all because of my father. I had always indirectly resented him because he was the head of a large and successful IT company. While this was not necessarily a negative thing, it had created a toxic family environment. My mother wanted me to be her successor and made me work tirelessly for it. My brothers and sisters, wanting the inheritance, fought fiercely for it, which I denigrated, and then rejected me. At school, those who claimed to be my friends only hung out with me for the sole purpose of getting privileges or money. All of this was because of him, my damn father. I grew up in such a world because of him, yet at the time I didn't know that it was all for us. He got up every morning of his life to go to work and feed us. Every morning, he didn't get up for himself, but for us. He paid for my education at prestigious schools so that I could be happy. He paid for all my classes so that I could succeed. When I wanted to study medicine and I rejected him, he accepted it and let me go. I was stupid, but he loved me and it was so obvious. Children may not put themselves in their parents' shoes enough, but even when they are far away and absent, our parents think about us.
I was finally in front of the hospital. I parked my car across the street and rushed inside to see the secretary to find out where my father was.
I ran with all my strength to get to the room where he was and opened the door, only to be shocked.
My father was there, his eyes hanging open, able to breathe only with the help of a machine, his body broken and bloodstains clearly visible on his skin.
He hadn't changed much since the last time I saw him. He was still an elegant man with dark circles under his eyes. His once jet-black hair had already begun to turn white, and wrinkles were slowly beginning to appear on his face.
I slowly approached him, my arms trembling.
His eyes suddenly began to shine.
"Is that you, Leon?"
he asked with difficulty, his voice breaking.
I shed tears. This man I had once hated so much had ended up so miserably after loving me so much, without me being able to return the favor.
"Dad..."
I said, trying to hold back my tears.
"It's been years since you called me that, you know?"
He said, laughing despite his condition.
"I'm sorry for everything, Dad! I never realized how worried you were about me back then! I resented you! I resented you! I resented you! Because of everything I was going through, I was young and I needed someone to blame for everything that was happening to me! I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I left and insulted you 10 years ago! I'm sorry I insulted Mom! Forgive me, Dad! I don't want there to be any more hatred between us! I didn't want any of this to happen to us! I'm sorry!
I said through my tears.
"I never hated you, my son... The truth is, I never knew how to take the first step toward you. I was so obsessed with making money for you that I forgot you existed. Your mother was hard on you, but it was so you could succeed. I was never a present father to you. I never attended your parent-teacher conferences, I wasn't there when you won the science competition prize in elementary school, I was absent when you were being bullied, I was absent when you tried to commit suicide because your first love was only there for my money, I was only there when you wanted to leave and I couldn't stop you... My son... We missed out on so many things, you know? From the times when I should have teased you and laughed with you, to those awkward moments when we could have talked about women, to the happy times when we could have fooled around and laughed, to the times when I should have supported you... My son, this may be the only time I ever say this, but I love you... Sorry for being so absent... Take good care of your mother, she can be really annoying, you know...
He said with a smile and tears in his eyes as he breathed his last breath.
"Dad!!!!"
I screamed, in tears and with a heavy heart.