I went into the forest with my father. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and said, “Finally, we’re alone. Come here, let me kiss you. I’ve wanted to do this for so long.” I recoiled from him in horror. But my father came closer, took me by the shoulders, and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, darling. Your mother will never know what happened between us.” I started shaking. And when he said, “I’ve waited 19 years for this moment,” I froze in fear…

“You gave me nineteen years of motherly love. No truth will ever change that.”

That evening the three of us went into the forest again.

The father stopped near an old bench.

I took his hand.

• Dad, do you remember how scared I was when you told me to come closer so you could kiss me?

He lowered his head.

• Yes. And I’m really sorry I scared you so much.

I smiled.

• Now I understand why you were so excited.

That day when my father grabbed my hand in the forest and said, “Finally, we’re alone. Come here, let me kiss you,” I was deathly afraid. I felt as if something unforgivable was hiding behind his strange behavior.

But the truth was, he wanted to give me a kiss from the mother who never got to see me grow up.