There was a cold winter night when I met a man named Jeff who was living on the streets. Because he was nice and helpful, he quickly became a member of our family. Something shocking was found, though, that revealed secrets from the past and made everything different.
Jeff fixed shoes on the corner of the street, and I had seen him around town. I felt like he had a quiet respect about him despite what was going on in his life. I went up to him one day and asked if he could fix my shoe. He agreed, and I saw how carefully and carefully he worked on the job.
As the winter went on, Jeff started to come to our house more often. He did work, played with the kids, and fixed things around the house. We grew to love him, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Jeff was hiding something.
Jeff looked at a picture of my parents one night while we were eating dinner. His hands were shaking and his face was pale. At that moment, I knew the truth: Jeff was my dad.
The news was shocking and overwhelming at the same time. It turned out that my mother had kept my father from us, even though I always thought he had left us. As I tried to figure out what this new information meant, Jeff left, leaving behind a package with a letter and a picture.
What the letter said was everything: Jeff and my mum were young and in love, but his cheating broke them up. He tried to see me and be a part of my life, but my mom wouldn’t let him. It was easy to feel the pain and sorrow in his words.
I felt split between anger and sadness, but as I read the letter, I knew I had to decide what to do. Either I could hold on to my sadness and anger, or I could try to understand and forgive. I picked the second one.
I set out to find Jeff and make things right with him. He was sitting on a bench near my workplace when I finally found him. I felt a lot of different things. But when I looked into his eyes, I saw the same love and kindness that drew me to him in the first place.
I told him I was sorry and gave him a hug. Everything changed after that. Jeff came back into my life as a father and a member of our family. It took a while, but we slowly fixed our relationship after a lot of hurt and misunderstanding.
Now that I look back, I see that forgiving was the key to getting better. It wasn’t fun, but it had to be done. I know I made the right choice now that I see Jeff. His faults are many, but I love my dad very much.
