My dad left. Explanation:

When I was 5 my father left me. He always told how I was going to be an amazing person and how he was proud of me. I believed him. I trusted him. I loved him. When I was 5, I woke up one morning. To be more specific, my birthday. I ran downstairs to find my mother crying at the dining room table. She held a piece of paper in her hands and her body racked of sobs. Me being a 5 year old I did not know what had happened. I walked up tp her.

"Mommy, are you okay" I asked sitting at the table with her. She wiped her eyes quickly and looked up at me, smiling.

"Happy birthday, Suki!" she said, running her hand up and down my arm. I smiled big.

"Where's daddy I asked. That is when the floods broke loose.

Because my father left me, when I was 6 years old I was the only girl in first grade that did not make a card on Father's Day. When asked why, I stayed silent and shrugged. I looked around the room and took in everything. I saw the teacher standing up at the board, writing 'Happy Father's Day.' I saw all my classmates smiling, and working on their cards. I sat at my desk and set my hands in my lap. I looked down at my desk.

"Suki, aren't you going to make a card?" Ms. Ace, my teacher asked. I shook my head and continued looking down.

"Do you want help to make one?" she asked, folding a piece of paper. I shook my head. She sighed and set the paper down, going to help another student.

For the reminder of the day, I sat at ,y desk and twiddled my thumbs. When the bell rang, I left class and walked to the bus, found my seat and waited for it to move.

Eventually, it dropped me off at home and I walked into my house, setting my bag down, and escaping to my room. I often wondered that made my father leave us. I did not understand. After school when kids were getting picked up by their dads, I would watch in confusion. I would watch the dads spread their arms and their child would sprint into them, all while laughing.

Because my dad left me when I was 5, I never felt whole again.

JK GOTEM