The Weight of Thirty Years

"I volunteered for this Town Revitalization Program, so I'm staying until the town gets back on its feet. "

Standing before the members of the project committee, I made that promise without hesitation.

Quite a few people in the conference room had tears in their eyes. Most of those present today were about to leave for different remote communities to carry out aid work.

For many of them, that was not the kind of job that brought fame or promotion. Those distant, barren places often meant being completely cut off from the prosperous world beyond.

However, someone had to walk that road.

"Liam, come outside for a moment."

My supervisor, James, had been my mother's closest friend before she passed away.

Ten years ago, my mother died in an accident during a medical relief mission in a remote region. As my mother’s only child, James had never wanted me to follow the same path she had taken.

"Liam, think this through carefully. Things are not as simple as you imagine. You have a family of your own now, and you have a child. How am I supposed to face your mother if something happens to you?

"And what about your injury?"

His eyes were red as he lowered his head.

I reached down and gently touched my leg. "That’s exactly why I have to do this. I need to finish the path my mother forged. As for my injury, the doctor said I should recover soon."

The path ahead might be covered in thorns, but I had to go.

"Liam, I trust you to handle things. I won’t stop you. Go. Stay safe!"

James walked away, his back slightly hunched.

As I rubbed my injured leg, an indescribable pain rose from deep inside me. No one would ever believe that my five-year-old daughter had broken my leg.

It happened during a family gathering, when the house was brimming with my relatives. Ruby’s male nanny, Wilson, was busy running around and helping everyone. I wanted to spend some time speaking to her, but suddenly, her eyes lit up. She jumped into her rideable toy car and drove straight at me.

The moment I hit the ground, I heard the crack of bone.

My leg was broken.

Ruby glanced back at me with cold amusement, then deliberately drove over my lower leg a second time.

"You don’t deserve to be my dad," she said. “Wilson is the one who works hard for this family every day. All you ever do is buy things and spend money! I don’t like you."

The pain was so intense that I could not even speak. I slapped the floor weakly, trying to beg for help.

My wife, Sheila, rushed over after hearing the commotion. She only looked at me once before turning her attention to Ruby.

"What happened? Did Daddy make you upset again? Or did he say something bad about Wilson?"

As she spoke, she shot me a look filled with disgust, as if I were something filthy.

"H-help me..." I did not even have time to defend myself. I could only look pleadingly at the two people closest to me in the world, hoping they would show me a little kindness and call an ambulance.

However, even after the entire family gathered around me, Sheila still had no intention of making the call.

In her eyes, I was only pretending. The only person who crouched beside me was Wilson. "Liam, what happened to you?" he asked anxiously. "Don’t be scared. I’ll get someone to help you right away."

With his back to everyone else, his voice sounded urgent and sincere. However, the face he showed me was completely different. He raised an eyebrow smugly, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

No one heard him mouth the words, ‘Serves you right.’

I was furious. I lifted my hand and tried to punch his face.

However, before I could touch him, Ruby slapped my hand away. She frowned at me in disgust.

"How can anyone be this vicious? I already told you that Wilson has worked himself to the bone for this family. Why can’t you accept him? Mom’s right. Out of everyone in this family, you’re the most disgusting. You deserved to get hurt. Why don’t you just die?!"

Hearing my own daughter curse me to death, I found myself unable to say a single word.