Mom left when I was 3, leaving my dad to raise me alone. He never really spoke about her, but he only said one thing: “She wasn’t fit to be your mom.” Those words stuck with me throughout my childhood, leaving me to imagine who she was and why she had left.
Dad was my whole world — he worked long hours, packed my school lunches, and even braided my hair before school. Though our life wasn’t easy, I always felt safe with him. Still, I often wondered why my mom had chosen to disappear and why Dad became so tense whenever her name came up.
