My Dad Abandoned Me at 13 — A Decade Later, I Found Him Hitchhiking with a Little Girl

My Dad Left Me When I Was 13 — Ten Years Later, I Saw Him on the Side of the Road Hitchhiking with a Little Girl

When I was thirteen, the man Mom and I deeply loved broke our hearts and left us. When I pulled over for a hitchhiker ten years later, I saw my dad with a small girl by his side. The wounds never went away. Will their wounds get deeper or mend after this fresh encounter?

The world went colorless the day my dad left. I recall observing his automobile pull away around the bend in our driveway. I will never forget the sound of his tires’ rubber hitting the asphalt; it sounded like optimism being gradually destroyed.

“Dad!” I let out a cry and bolted after him. “Dad, come back!”

However, he didn’t. He simply walked away. No rationale, no farewell. Simply vanished.

I looked over to my mother, Crystal. Her expression was filled with astonishment and amazement as she stood in the doorway. “Mom?” With a small, terrified voice, I whispered.

She seemed to recollect that I was there as she blinked. “Oh, Ellie, come here, baby.”

My face was buried in her shirt as I rushed into her arms. It had a cozy, secure scent. But I could feel her trembling even as she held me.

“Why did he go, Mom?” With my words muffled against her, I had asked. “Why did Dad leave us?”

Her delicate yet erratic touch danced across my hair. “My dear, I’m not sure. I’m just unsure.”

I silently vowed to be strong for her as we stood there, holding on to one another. I had to be.

I tried to sound braver than I felt and said, “We’ll be okay, Mom.” “We’ve got each other.”

A tear fell to my head as she squeezed me even harder. “Ellie, yes, we do. We shall always do.”

The next ten years were a jumble of struggle and gradual recovery. Mom and I united to take on the world as a team. There were difficult times for us. There were moments when I could feel my dad’s absence physically.

However, we managed to survive. We had one another. It sufficed. And then everything changed in an instant.

One evening as the sun was sinking and coloring the sky in tones of pink and orange, I was traveling home from work on a crowded highway.

I scarcely noticed the pop song about a lost love that was playing on the radio in the background. My thoughts were on what to have for supper and the washing that was waiting for me at home.

I noticed them at that point.

Standing on the side of the road with their thumbs out are a father and a small daughter. My heart skipped a beat at something about the man’s stance, the way he stood guarded next the girl. I reduced my speed and peered through the windshield.

No. It is not possible.

My hands trembling, I pulled over and put the car in park.

I watched them approach in the rearview mirror. The young girl giggled and held the man’s hand as she skipped along. Moreover, the man…?

My heart felt icy. It was HIM, my father.

Indeed, he appeared more mature. His face looked more tired and wrinkled, and his hair had become gray. However, those were unmistakably the same eyes I saw each time I glanced in the mirror.

I stepped out of the car with shaky knees and a parched mouth. “Need a ride?” I cried out, and even I thought my voice sounded funny.

He turned, a look of gratitude beginning to appear on his face. The smile faded when he spotted me, leaving behind amazement and something that appeared to be shame.

His eyes widened, he exclaimed, “Ellie?”

The young girl glanced at us, her expression clearly displaying perplexity. She questioned, “Do you know her, Bill?”

Bill. Not your father. Simply Bill. I forced myself to remain calm and swallowed hard.

Indeed, he replied. “Yeah, I know her.”

The drive was tight, with an unpleasant silence that made the car feel as though it was losing oxygen.

I got so stiff on the steering wheel that my knuckles went white. I tried not to look at the man in my passenger seat, the man who was meant to be my father, by keeping my eyes on the road ahead.

The man who had deserted his family with such ease. The man who broke our hearts and built his own sandcastle, all the while, had so callously moved on.

Ignoring the emotional tempest that was building up in front, the young girl hummed softly in the backseat.

I finally reached my breaking point. “Please clarify that’s not my sister,” I interrupted the silence.

My father recoiled as though I had hit him with an axe. With his hands clenched in his lap, he gazed straight ahead.

“Sarah is her name. Ellie, she’s not really your sister. Not via blood.”

I released a breath that I had been unable to recognize. But that didn’t make my situation any simpler.

“Then who is she?”

Dad let out a groan, his shoulders sagging as if he were the weight of the entire planet.

“She’s the daughter of someone I’ve been with for a few years,” he acknowledged. “Her mother departed from us several months ago. I’ve been doing my hardest to look after Sarah. moved here a month ago.”

I was aware of the irony of his circumstances. With a sour laugh, I laughed.

“Whoa. So you’re aware of how it feels right now? to be abandoned? to have someone you love desert you? Have you ever heard the notorious proverb “What goes around, comes around?”

Dad did not argue, but his jaw stiffened. “I’m not perfect, Ellie. Many of them. Even if it’s too late for you and your mother, I’m still making an effort to make up for it.”

With tears hurting my eyes, I shook my head. “Are you aware of the damage you caused to us? How difficult was it for us? For me? Can you imagine how I was taunted and bullied by students at school? How my mother battled to raise me by herself and act as both my mother and father?”

My eyes met Sarah’s perplexed countenance in the rearview mirror. She wasn’t supposed to be entangled in this. In an attempt to relax, I inhaled deeply.

Dad said, “I’m sorry,” in a whisper. “I know it doesn’t change anything, but I am so, so sorry.”

“I apologize. You don’t apologize after stabbing someone in the heart!”

“I’m sorry, Ellie. Please forgive me. Actually.”

I remained silent. How do I put it? Ten years of absence and wondering why I wasn’t enough to keep him won’t be erased by saying I’m sorry. I apologize, but it won’t replace the joy that was once snatched from Mom and me.

Sarah spoke up from the backseat as we got closer to the address he’d given me. “Are you Bill’s friend?”

Observing her curiosity in the mirror, I met her eyes. I thought for a second about telling her the truth. However, observing her optimistic countenance, I found it difficult to disturb her small universe.

I forced a smile and murmured gently, “Something like that.” “A forgotten friend.”

I parked at the curb, hands trembling. I felt suffocated by the silence that had plagued me during the voyage.

My father moved slowly and hesitantly as he unbuckled his seatbelt. With sadness in his red-rimmed eyes, he turned to face me.

“Ellie, I’m grateful for the ride. I want you to know how sorry I am, even though I don’t expect you to forgive me. For everything.”

I couldn’t look at him; I had to look straight ahead. I felt like there were too many words in my throat, choking me.

When I finally said, “Take care of her,” I nodded to Sarah in the backseat. “Avoid making the same mistakes you did with us. It’s quite simple to walk away after breaking someone’s heart. Avoid doing that to her.

With a tear streaming down his cheek, he nodded. “Yes, I will. I swear.”

Sarah bent forward to watch him get out of the car. Brightly, “Thank you for the ride, Miss Ellie,” she exclaimed. “It was nice to meet you!”

I managed a tiny smile as I turned to face her. “Sarah, it was good to meet you as well. Please look for yourself.”

With enthusiasm, she nodded. “Yes, I will! “Goodbye!”

I watched as they turned to leave, my dad’s huge hand holding Sarah’s tiny one. After a long day, they appeared to be a typical father and daughter on their way home.

However, I was aware of the nuanced reality that underlay that straightforward delusion.

I felt a burden leave my shoulders as they slid from view. I allowed the hurt of my father’s departure to influence my relationships and way of life for many years.

But after seeing him now, I understood something crucial: I didn’t require his love or approval in order to be full.

I wiped away a stray tear and started the car. Now that the sun had fully set, the sky was a rich, velvety blue. A cozy, consoling feeling crept into my heart as I drove away. I was determined to live my own life and not let the past to define me any longer.

My mother texted me, “Everything okay, honey? “as my phone buzzed. Usually by now, you’re at home.”

I grinned, my heart pounding with love for the woman who had raised me as both a son and a daughter. I replied, “On my way, Mom,” through typing. “I love you.”

I came to the realization that sometimes the family you choose matters more than the one you are born into as soon as I clicked submit. I had made a wise choice, too. I don’t require a father to provide me with protection or love. The strongest force in my universe is MY MOTHER.