One day, my phone rang on the way to work. On the other side, a little girl’s voice could be heard. “Daddy, please come back home soon, I miss you!” I knew this little girl must have dialed the wrong number because I wouldn’t have confused her voice with that of my own cute daughter. I’ve been getting a lot of calls from people I don’t know. So I told her gently, “You’ve got the wrong number.”
Then, I hung up.Over the next few days, I kept getting calls from the same phone number, which was annoying. Sometimes I would be rude to the person who called, and sometimes I would just not answer. One day, the same number called again, but this time I was calm enough to answer because I wanted to know why this little girl kept calling.
When I picked up the phone, I heard the same little girl’s voice, but this time her voice was weak and it sounded like she was short of breath. “Daddy, Please get back soon. I really miss you! Mother told me this number was right. Here’s your phone number.” “Daddy, I am in pain! Mom told me that you are very busy at work, and mom took care of me all day and night.
She looks tired. “Daddy, I know it must be hard and tough for you to work every day, so if you can’t come, can you blow me a kiss?” I couldn’t say no to that cute voice, so I made some kissing noises for her. After hearing my kisses, the little girl said, “Thank you, Daddy, I’m very happy, I feel so happy…”
Just as I was getting interested in this little girl’s call attempts, I heard a woman crying, “Sir, I’m sorry I’ve been bothering you for the past few weeks. I’m sorry very much. I wanted to call you when I was done with everything here, but I’m sorry.” “This is a very sad place for my child to live. She has had bone cancer since she was born, and her father died in a car accident not long ago. I didn’t have the courage to tell her about this bad news.”
“She had to go through treatment every day, and a child her age shouldn’t have to go through that much pain. After each round of chemo, when the pain was too much, she would call for her father, who would always tell her to be brave. “I really didn’t have the guts to tell a sick child that her father had died. So, the day after her father died, I picked a phone number at random, which turned out to be yours….”
When I heard her story, it made me feel very sad. “How is the child doing now?” I asked.”Niu Niu died just now…You must have kissed her farewell…She was happy when she left. Before she left, she held the phone she used to call you very tightly. I appreciate how happy you made my little girl’s last moments.”