He always demanded perfection in everything, and my brother and I were going through our teenage years, often conflicting with him. Then, our father brought home a stepmother who didn’t like us from the very beginning and didn’t even try to hide it. Later, our stepmother started persuading our father to send my brother and me to an orphanage.
We hoped until the very end that it wouldn’t happen. But our father was relentless, and we changed our place of residence. Initially, he visited us twice a year, and then he completely forgot about us. We were initially sad because our father abandoned us for the sake of his stepmother, but then we realized that life in the orphanage was even better than at home.
Our lives turned out well; we’re now adults, have our own families and children, and we’re still as close as we were in childhood. Now, our father is looking for us. A father who didn’t have any contact with us for decades. A father who, because of some woman, sent his own sons to an orphanage. But it’s not because he realized how much he loves us. The reason is simple: his wife left him after his hand had to be amputated due to gangrene. Now, he can’t take care of himself, and suddenly, he needs us.
Only to have a conversation with our father did my brother and I agree to meet him. We were curious to hear how our father, who once abandoned us and now somehow expects help from us, would explain his actions.
But instead of explanations or apologies, we heard a new list of instructions. After carefully listening, we made it clear to our father that no one intends to follow them, and we permanently removed him from our lives.
