I tried to wipe away my tears. I dialed my dad’s new number, no longer my number. Just thinking about it made me cry, even more. Then this feeling came to me that I can scarcely explain. As soon as I heard my dad’s voice, I begged,

“Dad, please come home! Mom’s really sick! No matter what happened between you two, dad, you’ve got to help mom! She’s dying!”

Then, I heard the phone beeping. I wondered if dad is coming back. I rested on my blue sofa, and pictured mom and dad together again. But I knew that that was not going to happen. My 12Th birthday is coming up on the next month. Since dad left the house, my mom left the house for no reason, no one would celebrate my birthday. I was living alone, so the house was always quiet and lonely. So since my mom is not there, I decided to make a plan and get my dad back home again. Soon as I got up the sofa to stretch, I heard the bell ring. I rushed to the door and turned the knob. It was dad. Though he had got skinnier, I could recognize him by his face structure. His cheekbone was higher than anyone, and his eyes were separated. I hugged him hard, and I said that I missed him so much. Usually when I felt this way, I take a late night walk about 3 kilometers from home. There’s an apple orchard on a small hill, behind the road that leads out of town. It’s dark and quiet, lately, this is where I feel most at home. But this time it was different. The moment I saw dad, my home felt really like a home, and my heart was fulfilled. Suddenly, I heard my dad asking me where is mom as if he was terrified. Then I realized what I’ve said on the phone when I called him. So I brought him to my room and let him sit on the brown, wooden, rocking chair, and explained about everything that happened.

“Look, you know, after you left this house, mom left for no reason. So I was alone. Then I decided to lie on the phone and at least get you back home, dad. I’m really sorry for lying but you’ve got to stay! I’m feeling really sick alone!”

“Well okay, Zack, so you lied to me to come home… Hmmm… That’s a problem, but I can stay for a couple of months, well maybe one year… If that’s okay, I will stay.”