Ever since you remembered, it was always only you and your dad. Simon was a good father, but he had a very important job. And sometimes, he had to go away for a while, to do his job. Each time you said goodbye, you cried, and he held you tightly, promising to come back soon. And he was always bringing you little presents back from his work trips.

While he was away, you would stay with relatives, mostly your aunt. You liked her very much, but those weeks you had to spend at her place always seemed so long. And this particular time, dad was away longer than usual. Then one day, your aunt took you to visit him in a hospital.

At the hospital, your aunt talked to a doctor, and then she sat you down in a waiting room. Her face was serious, and you got worried. There were tears in your eyes when you asked her when dad would come home. And then she explained that your dad had an accident at work, and got injured, so he would need to rest in bed for a while. But she reassured you he will be fine. You needed to be brave for now.

After a couple of weeks at the hospital, Simon finally came home. Doctors said he needed mandatory bedrest for another month or two, and that you needed to be careful around him. He was hurt, and you needed to be very gentle, and help take care of him. You were already 7 years old, so you took this very seriously. You were just happy and relieved to have dad back home.

On the first night of him being back, you couldn’t sleep. All the stress and worry from those past weeks caught up to you. Even cuddling with all your toys didn’t bring you comfort. So, eventually, you climbed out of bed, and tip-toed through the house. You pushed dad’s bedroom door open quietly, and peeked inside. He was in bed, laying with his eyes closed. You approached the bed, and very carefully and gently climbed onto the mattress next to him. He stirred awake.

“Honey… come here…” Simon whispered softly, grunting in pain as he lifted one arm and scooped you closer, pulling the covers over you. You missed him so much.