That thought causes a couple tears to fall, but I quickly wipe them away before I walk up to the door.
I take a deep breath and slowly release it before walking up the steps.
I haven’t seen anyone in my family for five years.
I knock on the door and wait. I hear footsteps before the door opens.
The person who opens the door is my baby sister, Serena. She looks so different now. Her disposition is tired and sad.
“Ana?” she whispers in disbelief.
“Hey sis,” I rasp. I can already feel myself breaking just from seeing her.
She pulls me into her arms in a strong hug before a sob leaves her. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, squeezing her extra tightly after hearing the pain and relief in her voice.
“It’s dad,” she says while pulling away so she can look me in the eye.
“What about him?” I ask. The last time I saw my father, he had told me that I was no longer his daughter because I chose a criminal for a husband.
“He’s dying,” she says with a choked sob.
My heart stops at those words, and I gasp. “What?”
“He got diagnosed with cancer a few months back, but it had already progressed enough that the doctors only gave him a few months to live,” she tells me while pulling me into the house.
“How come no one told me?” I ask in shock and hurt that they didn’t think to call me.
I look around the house. It has definitely seen better days. It is no longer being well taken care of like I’m used to. Its messy, dusty, and full of garbage. It is not the pristine house my mom liked to keep.
“Dad didn’t want us to call you. He said he made his mistakes and will have to die with the regrets. I could tell he wanted to contact you, but he said that you left us to be happy and he didn’t want to take away that happiness,” she tells me.
“What about mom?” I ask, putting what she said to the side to think about later.
“She’s in there with him. Obviously, she didn’t agree with him and wanted to contact you, but she also felt like shit because she didn’t give you the support you deserved back then. I think it was more about punishing themselves than anything,” she says with a sigh.
“They should have known I would have wanted to see him. At least to say good-bye,” I say while letting the tears fall down my cheeks. “How long does he have?” I ask, afraid to hear the answer.
“He’s only got a few weeks, I think. They say he has lasted a lot longer than they thought he would. I can take you to him,” she says before getting up.
“He’s here?” I gasp in shock.
She nods her head with tears in her eyes. “Yes, because he wanted to die at home. A nurse is here most of the day to take care of him and make him comfortable.”
“Okay let’s go see him,” I say before standing up.
“Wait, why are you here?” she asks, stopping to look at me.
I shake my head. “We can deal with that later. It’s not important right now.”
There will be plenty of time to discuss my failed marriage. One thing at a time.
When my sister opens the door to my parents’ room, I follow behind her. I look over to the bed and let out a shaky breath. My hand flies over my mouth as tears fall.
I was not prepared to see what was inside that room.
The once proud and strong man that I had always looked up to was so small and fragile laying on the bed, obviously struggling to breathe.
