Dad Walked Out on Us. Years Later, I Ran Into Him at the Market. What He Said to Me That Day Kept Me Awake All Night.

My childhood is marked by sadness. In the beginning, it was just the four of us: myself, my mum, my dad, and my younger brother. Throughout her life, my mum suffered from a serious illness. As the years passed, her symptoms grew more severe, and she was forced to spend a great deal of time in hospital. The episodes my mum experienced terrified both my brother and me we were small and couldnt really grasp what was going on.
At some point, my dad grew tired of living with a sick wife; he found another woman and moved out. Life became harder by the day. There wasnt a single adult around who could help us, and our financial situation grew worse. From the age of seven, my brother and I had to give Mum her injections because there was no one else. Our dad barely visited and offered no help at all.
When I was twelve and my brother was ten, my mums condition deteriorated even more. She was in hospital for a long time. Dad had no choice but to take us in Mum pleaded with him not to abandon us. Thats how we ended up in the house of my stepmother. She was like the wicked stepmother straight out of a childrens story.
They lived out in the countryside, and she made my brother and me work from dawn till dusk. We didnt have a single moment to rest. I grew to love the time I spent at school, simply because it gave me a brief escape from all the chores at home. My dad saw what she was doing to us but did nothing to help. He simply turned a blind eye, as if we werent his children at all. This went on for two years. Then, at last, my mum recovered and managed to rescue us from that nightmare. She passed away when I was at university. I haven’t spoken to my father since.
I cannot forgive him for his utter indifference toward us. The resentment truly eats away at me. He wasnt at my wedding, and Ive never let him see his grandchildren. Not long ago, I met him at the local market. He had changed a great deal not for the better. He looked pale and frail, as though hed lost a fair bit of weight. He told me he was gravely ill and didnt have much time left, and he apologised for everything. I just turned away and walked off. I want so much to forgive him at last, but I dont know how. Im finding it impossible to deal with all these emotions.