THE COST OF ABANDONMENT

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Beatrice. She was living with her parents and two siblings. Both her parents were unemployed; luckily, they had their own farm that helped them to survive.

As time went by, Beatrice’s father got a job in another country, so he left his children and wife. He even told them that he would visit them more often. Beatrice was in Grade 8 when her father left. Her father never visited them since that day. The farm was no longer productive because of drought. It was hard for her family to survive, but her mother made sure that they went to sleep with full stomachs because she would never let her children suffer.

Beatrice’s mother worked multiple jobs just to make sure that her kids had something to eat. One year passed without a call or visit from Beatrice’s father. Beatrice’s mother got sick; she was unable to go to work. She had a really hard time and had to see her kids suffering.

Beatrice was in Grade 10 and had to take on responsibilities because she was the eldest daughter in the family. She had to learn a lot of things at a very young age. She got a part-time job, but she was not receiving enough money to buy her mother’s medicine and groceries. Beatrice had to fetch water early in the morning and evening in order to irrigate crops in their farm. The worst part was that no one was helping her. It was hard for her to manage the farm, part-time job, and schoolwork.

She didn’t want to sell her life short by being a prostitute just to get money. She did all the work in the house, taking care of her family. Beatrice’s mom died when she was in Grade 12. It was a very, very hard time for her. She tried calling her father, but he was not reachable, and that made Beatrice hate her father even more because he was never there for them. Beatrice continued to do the work that she used to do when her mother was still alive. She was the strongest person ever.

Eight years passed. Beatrice graduated and got a great job (she was making a lot of money), and her two siblings went to varsity. Finally, they were able to support themselves.

After so many years, their father returned from another country with nothing. He lost his job; in fact, he lost everything he had while he was working. He pretended like everything was okay. He waited for his children for one whole week, not knowing they were no longer living at their old home. He tried to contact Beatrice several times. He tried one last time, and that is when he finally got Beatrice.

He tried apologizing to Beatrice, but she never accepted his apology. She told her father how much she hated him, how her mother died, and how she had to take responsibilities at a very early age.

"What kind of a father are you? You ran away from your responsibilities, you made empty promises, and you started a new life without your family & you never visited us.

I HATE YOU, FATHER."

Those were Beatrice’s last words to her father, and her father felt remorse for the rest of his life. He was struggling and had no one to call.

KARMA dealt with him.