A Passion Lost and Found
When Audra’s mother told her that Dad would be home for her tenth birthday, a wave of pure joy swept over her. She leaped with excitement, her heart racing with the news. Her Dad had been away on a year-long archaeological expedition, and Audra had missed him deeply every single day. The thought of his return filled her with immense delight.
“Mum, when will he be here?” Audra asked repeatedly, her anticipation bubbling over despite having been told more than many times already. Her Mom sharing Audra’s excitement, could hardly wait to reunite with her husband. She felt the same flutter of anticipation, the same longing.
Audra had a special surprise planned for her dad. She had been diligently collecting precious stones, a hobby inspired by her father’s tales. “He’s going to love it!” she confided to her mother, her eyes sparkling with pride and excitement. You could see in her eyes, the love for her Dad— as vast as the ocean, pure and unyielding. It was the kind of love that only little girls show for their fathers. It’s the purest of love —an innocent but strong form of love.
She reminisced about the nights her Dad would tell her fascinating stories from his daring adventures. Tales from the dense jungles of India to the sweeping deserts of Arabia filled her with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. Those stories were her treasure, sparking a flame of adventure in her young heart.
To Audra, her father was a hero and her best friend. Yet, the nature of his job often kept him away from home, leaving a void that only his stories and rare visits could fill. But in her eyes, his absence never dimmed the love and admiration she held for him. The bond they shared was unbreakable, forged in the innocent yet profound love of a daughter for her father.
Whenever her Dad called, she sprang and reached for the phone. She loved talking to him and kept asking, “When will you be back home, Dadd?” And he’d assure her that he’d be back soon and not to worry about him so much.
“This expedition has been the longest he’s been away Mum,” Audra said to her mother, who counted each passing day along with her. She looked at the hazel brown jewelstone in her palm, a present from her father on her seventh birthday.
She loved that stone; it was the exact color as her eyes.
She had shown it to all her friends at school, even to Layla, whom she didn’t like much. Layla had called her “weird” for collecting dirty rocks and playing in the dirt. Audra hadn’t known what that meant at first and brushed it off, but later that day, she had looked up the word in the dictionary and was fuming with anger at Layla. She hadn’t talked to her since.
Audra’s adventurous spirit often got her into trouble. Once, she broke the rules and jumped the school fence to catch a peculiar-looking frog. When her dad heard about this, he laughed and was thrilled that she shared his explorer’s heart. But her mum was furious, and Audra received a stern scolding for it.
The day finally came, it was Audra’s tenth birthday, and she wondered what exciting present she would get from Dad this time. But life can be ugly sometimes, and it doesn’t shy away from showing its terrifying face, even to little children.
Audra’s mother told her, “Dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon sweetheart, and we’ll have to wait more.” Hearing this made her sad, but what made her even sadder were the tears streaming down her mum’s face as she told her this.
Audra was ten years old, and though she understood something bad had happened, she couldn’t ask her mother to tell her. She tried calling him over the phone despite being told by Mum not to. In her heart, she couldn’t accept that anything could happen to her Dad. She had to suspend belief for that moment.
Her mother could not muster the courage to tell Audra — not until she grew up to be a teenager. She waited four excruciating years to tell her when she thought Audra would be grown enough to take the bleak truth.
Audra had cried. Oh yes, she had cried every single day. But she hadn’t been able to accept the truth that her Dad was in a tragic plane crash on his way back. Yes, she read the news article of that fateful day. Yes, she’d been asked by her friends. Yes, she knew the truth much before her mother told her. But she never accepted it. She just couldn’t. It was hard for her to fathom the shock of it all.
Audra didn’t take it well upon hearing the truth from her Mum’s mouth. She didn’t take it well at all. She felt neglected and lied to, by her own mother. She could never forgive her for that, not until she became an adult and understood the convoluted state her mother would’ve been in all this time.
Audra was never the same. Since that day, she had given up the hope to become an archaeologist and started preparing for law school instead. Something changed in her. She didn’t speak much at school and usually kept to her studies. Days were hard for Audra and her mother after her father passed away.
Her mother had to find a day job to support the family and so she always kept busy at work. Audra would not be able to sleep and often dream about her father. Even in her dreams, she loved him as much as she did awake.
One Sunday morning, Audra and her mum were cleaning the house. She found her dad’s old toolbox by the bedside drawer. In it, she discovered a magnifying glass with a folded paper attached to it. It was a letter left by her father.
With trembling hands, Audra opened the letter and began to read:
“My dearest Audra,
If you are reading this, it means I couldn’t make it back home. I want you to know that I love you more than words can express. Always be curious and never give up, even if I’m not there. You mean the world to me. If someday anything happens to me, take care of your mother and yourself. Be brave, my little explorer, and follow your heart.
Love, Dad”
Tears streamed down Audra’s face as she read the heartfelt words. In that moment, she felt her father’s presence, his unwavering love, and his encouragement. Determined to make her father’s wishes come true, she rekindled her love of exploring the unknown and decided to pursue her dream of becoming an archaeologist.
Years later, Audra went on to become one of the most renowned archaeologists in the country. She discovered many precious artifacts and even uncovered a hidden landsite in Peru, which she named after her dad. Her father’s spirit lived on in her adventures, guiding her every step of the way.
Audra had found her passion once more, and with it, she found a piece of her father.
If you liked reading this story, please take a minute to press the clap button, it increases the post visibility for other medium users. Thank You :)
