A birthday I will never forget.

It was a cold Sunday morning I was in 9th grade and I had lost my father 9 years ago. But I always believed that my mom lied to me about his death and he was still alive. I was too young to lose him at that time but now I had learned how to live without him. Not that I didn't miss him, I missed him every second but I had to move on in life. I had always dreamed of becoming an army officer just like him. I wished that one day I will become an army officer and I knew my father will be proud wherever he is. I always believed he is still watching me from somewhere which pushed me to work harder.

I always wondered if my dad is still alive. My mom had once told me he died in a car crash but I found it fishy. Whenever I asked my mom about how dad died she would refuse to tell me much about it. I trusted my mother more than anyone in this world also she was the only one I had. But that Sunday morning I just couldn't stop about thinking about my father I kept on overthinking. Bad thoughts started coming to my mind. "Is he still alive?", "Is my mom lying?" and much more. I tried and tried to not think about my father but I could not.

While I was overthinking my mom came into my room she had my packed lunch in her hand. "Why aren't u dressed yet? the school bus will be here any minute" She said. I quickly got up and got dressed. While I was about to leave she asked "So, what gift do u want for your birthday this year?" ten days were left for my birthday. "I haven't thought about it yet ma" I said and I left for school.

I kept thinking about my father all day along. I didn't know why it was bothering me so much today. I couldn't concentrate on lectures and so my best friend asked what had happened to me today. Firstly, I hesitated but then I had to tell her, after all she was my best friend. I told her everything and what she told me shocked me to death. She told me, " listen, I know your father is not dead. As our families are friends from our childhood I heard this from my parents. Your father had not died because of an accident but your parents had parted when you were young."

I didn’t believe her. why will my parents be parted and why was my mother lying to me.

My best friend told me the whole story then. My father being an army officer had been transferred to a different country. A country far away from ours. My mom refused to leave all the luxuries and her job and move with my father and that is how my parents got into a huge fight. No one was ready to sacrifice and so my father left, abandoning us. My mother never called him nor did my father. Since then my mother raised me up single handed. She knew that if I had known about my father I would want to meet him so she told me he was dead.

I came home devastated. I couldn’t believe what I came to know today I was angry at my mom for lying to me all these years. Just then my mom asked, "Honey, did you think about your birthday gift?" my mom gave me all the luxuries and was without doubt the best single mother. But today I was very angry, how could she lie to me about my father? wasn’t it my right to know about my father? in anger I replied, "Maybe the father about whom you lied to me all these years is what I want as a gift mom!" My mom looked at me her eyes wide open. I regretted my words I told her I knew everything now.

My mother was shattered "Honey I am sorry it was a very big mistake to have kept to unknown about your father. Its high time you should know about him, he lives in the UK, I have never contacted him since he left but I have his telephone number you can give him a call if u want to talk to him.” She told me giving a small piece of paper, it had a number written on it. I so wanted to call my father, I wanted to know how he looked like, how he would talk and many more things. But I was also angry after knowing he abandoned us.

I still decided to call him after all he was my father maybe he misses me too, maybe he is not able to contact us and he is sorry about what he did. My mother missed him too. I could see it from her eyes. I slowly typed the number on my phone, my hands shaking. And I called him. A man picked up from the other side “hello?” he said in heavy voice. “Was it my father?” I thought. My heart starting beating faster. “hi dad?” I said. “Julia?!” he replied. My heart was in my hands. It was my name and my father recognized me. “Julia how are you little one?” “how have you been?” “forgive me dear one I couldn’t contact I had reasons” he started asking many questions excitedly. Even I had a million things to say but instead I said, “Dad, I have my birthday in 10 days as you probably may know, I know you are on duty but I haven’t met you since nine years, if you love me come to meet me on my birthday and I will forget everything and forgive you. And If you don’t come I will never contact you again and you will be dead for me.” And I cut the call before he could say anything.

Now I only wanted to see if he will come or not. If he loves me I am sure he will leave everything and come back. I didn’t call him after day. Every day for 10 days I would come back home from school thinking if he was already home came to meet me but he wasn’t there. All day I would think about him. “What if he doesn’t come?” I would be shattered then. Days passed by and he didn’t come nor did he call to say he will be late. I still didn’t lose hope thinking he will surely come on my birthday and then came 21 December, my birthday. It was 12 am on the cold winter night. My mother came in my room to wish me when we heard the doorbell ring I opened the door to see a man standing on the gate, his clothes dirty. Of course it was my dad I couldn’t believe my eyes. The father I was told was dead was standing in front of me. My mother came running behind. “Happy birthday Julia!” my parents said. And we hugged each other tight and we lived happily ever after.