The son helps his hard-working mother clean the house and one day finds a secret safe hidden behind the pantry. He tries to open it by his date of birth, and it works. What he finds inside the safe shocks him and his mother.
Twelve-year-old Simon sat on the couch in the living room and tried hard not to cry. His champion and superhero father was about to leave the house, and there was nothing Simon could do to stop him.
Simon’s parents, Andy and Linda, were legally divorced after Linda discovered that Andy was cheating on her. Either way, the family’s life was never happy. They lived day to day with no comforts, no holidays, and no family outings.
Now, after the divorce, Linda has to take care of Simon alone. She started working two jobs to make ends meet.
One day, after Linda left for work, Simon decided to clean the house. He knew she would be tired at the end of the day, and he could see how overwhelmed she was with work and chores. It was the weekend for Simon, and he was free, so he thought it would be a good idea to help Linda.
“I know you wouldn’t say it out loud, Mom, but I know it’s not easy for you,” Simon thought as he vacuumed the rooms, washed the dishes, mowed the lawn, and finished the laundry.
When Linda returned home, she couldn’t recognize their house. Everything was spotless, everything was neat, and the laundry had been washed, too!
“My God, honey, did you do all this?” – she asked Simon, who was smiling broadly after making a special dinner for her.
“All you have to do tonight is get some rest, Mom, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to do any more housework!” – he replied, pulling out a chair for her at the dining room table. “Freshen up, and let’s have dinner! I made your favorite pasta tonight!”
Linda couldn’t hold back the tears and hugged Simon tightly. “Oh, my darling. I love you so much. My son is the best son in the world!”
“You’re the best mom, too, Mom!” replied Simon as they hugged. “Now hurry up. The pasta will get cold!”
Linda and Simon had dinner together and then spent the rest of the evening talking before Linda returned to work that evening. Simon decided to cook dinner every day before she got home so he wouldn’t tire her out with housework. In addition, he had already decided to clean the house every weekend to further reduce the burden on his mother.
One day when Simon was cleaning the house, he decided to clean the pantry as well. He couldn’t remember the last time they had dusted, so he took the cleaning supplies and began wiping down the shelves inside, one by one.
Pulling boxes off one of the shelves, Simon saw that something was lying behind one of them. He pushed the shelf open and was shocked to find a safe hidden behind it. It was the same colour as the wall, and anyone could have missed it, but it caught his attention.
“Wow, do mum and dad know about this?” – he wondered, trying different combinations to unlock the safe. First he tried his parents’ date of birth, but that didn’t work. Then he gave his date of birth and the safe opened!
Shocked, Simon pulled out the contents of the safe and could not believe his eyes. Inside was a thick envelope containing $30,000, documents that appeared to be property deeds, and a letter from his father.
Simon quickly opened the letter to read it, and soon felt hot tears running down his cheeks.
Dear Linda,
Do you remember the casket I wrote about? This is the one I was talking about. Even though I know it didn’t work out between us, I still love you and Simon, because a piece of paper can’t break the bond we shared for so long.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be a good husband to you, but I always tried my best. When we decided to go our separate ways, I felt heartbroken. I was so ashamed of what I had done, but I was even more worried about your future with Simon. So I decided to leave you the title deeds to our house and the house I inherited from my aunt here. I also left my savings to help you and Simon get by for a while.
Now that you have everything you need for yourself, we don’t need to argue about the division of our property. I hope that you and Simon live a happy life.
Please forgive me for hurting you both.
– Andy
Simon could not stop crying after reading his father’s letter. He did not know what had happened between his parents and what had led to their divorce, but he understood that his father was unhappy.
That evening when Linda came home, Simon turned to her. “What letters has Daddy written to you, Mummy? Be honest with me!” – he shouted, and then told her about the letter and the secret safe he had found the day before.
Linda confessed that she received letters from Andy, but she never opened them and just threw them in the cupboard.
“I thought he didn’t care about us, but this… I didn’t know about this! I didn’t even know about that safe! Andy must have installed it during the renovation last year!” – she said, reading the letter Simon had found.
Linda went to her room and read all the letters Andy had sent her before and couldn’t hold back the tears. “Your father loved us, Simon. Even though he cheated on me, he still loves us. He lives in his grandfather’s old caravan…” – she said and cried even harder.
Simon takes her hands in his. “Mum, everyone deserves a second chance… He loves us. It wouldn’t be fair if we left him.”
Although Linda was never going to get involved with Andy again in her life, her heart melted after reading his letters. She called him and invited him to dinner at the house to discuss the situation, and Andy tearfully apologised to them.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking straight. It can’t make up for what I did, but I’m sorry, and I mean it.”
“Dad,” Simon interrupted him abruptly. “When you weren’t with us, I had to become the man of the house. I took care of Mum and looked after her. So if you want to leave us, I don’t care. I know I can take care of Mum. But if you stay with us, you have to promise not to break her heart again. I respect your concern for us, but I also love Mum….”.
With tears in his eyes, Andy took Simon’s hands. “You’re right, son. A real man will always take care of his family and give everything he has to make them happy, even if the family has turned away from him. I promise I won’t leave you and Linda again… I’m sorry. Come here, Linda.”
As Andy hugged his ex-wife and son again, the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. He decided not to be tempted again because he didn’t want to lose the precious family he was lucky enough to have. He realised that he had been wrong to let them go and knew that he would never do it again.
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