Sadie looked up on her smartphone's GPS and found the cemetery was over 40 miles away.

"You're going to visit your father? It's not his death anniversary. Something wrong?" Brenda's face grew solemn.

"No big deal. I just miss Dad and want to visit," Sadie replied, a bit wistful. "A lot has happened lately. My thoughts are all scrambled. Maybe seeing him will give me some clarity." "That's a good idea," Brenda replied with teary eyes. "Send him my regards."

Sadie purchased calla lilies, her father's favorite, and took a cab to Autumn Hills Cemetery. As night fell, a light drizzle chilled the air. Arriving at her father's grave, Sadie looked at his photo etched on the tombstone, feeling a pang of heartache In Sadie's memories, Edmond was always warm and approachable, radiating kindness. He conducted his affairs with honesty and never got involved in any scandals. He was always generous and preferred to be owed than to owe. He was known by everyone who knew him as a good-hearted and just man. However, such a virtuous person was inexplicably taken from this world...

Now, he was lying there all by himself, exposed to the harsh elements. Sadie's heart felt like tumultuous waves were tossing it.

She laid the calla lilies at her father's grave, bowed deeply as if to speak to him one last time, and then made her way to the mausoleum's storage area for personal effects.

Finding her father's safety deposit box, Sadie used her mother's birthday as the code, a spark of genius from the past. It clicked open, revealing the familiar mahogany box a little piece of her father in the otherwise sterile room. Sadie held the mahogany box in her hands, She was overwhelmed with emotions-a flood of memories about her father began to wash over her, each one a bittersweet touch to her soul.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, gently pulled the box from its secure place, and unlocked it. Inside, there was an envelope, a photo album, and a silver document holder.

Sadie carefully opened the envelope with trembling hands. She recognized the handwriting immediately-her father's neat and stylish handwriting was as honorable and humble as he had been. Yet, the hurried strokes betrayed an urgency no typical of his calm demeanor.

She sensed the haste in which he had written the letter. It was as if he had known the end was near and there was no turning back, committing his final thoughts to paper for his daughter to replace.

Every word was laden with love, worry, and the difficulty of farewell.

Tears blurred Sadie's eyes as she read each sentence slowly:

"Sadie, by the time you read this, I may no longer be here. Don't be sad or grieve for me. I'll be watching over you from heaven, hoping my Say-Say leads a life of peace and happiness.

"Looking back on my life, through its triumphs and storms, and seeing where it has ended up, I have no resentments. If blame must be assigned, let it be on my own inadequacies. I gave it my all, claimed my piece of the sky, yet I couldn't stand against the weight of that family.

"The one regret that haunts me is not being able to replace your mother, not being able to apologize to her in person. I chose the path of least resistance to protect you, our home, and in doing so, I drove her away.

"If you ever have the chance to see her, please tell her that I loved her, that she was my one true love in this lifetime and if there's an afterlife, I wish to be with her again, hoping for another chance. "Sadly... I don't even know if she's alive or has already joined paradie, accompanying the angels...

"Well, enough of that am I making you laugh at your old man again?

"Ever since you were little, whenever I had a drink, I'd reminisce about your mother till you'd complain your ears were calloused from my stories... Well, I won't have the chance to ramble anymore. "You have always been my greatest concern. For 19 years, I've done everything to love and cherish you, but I forgot to teach you how to safeguard yourself..."

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