Little Girl Asked If I Could Be Her Daddy Until She Dies But I Didn’t Agree Because of One Reason

“I mean it. For however long you need me, I’m your dad.”

She held out her small hand. I took it gently. Her fingers were so thin. So fragile.

“Okay, Daddy,” she said. And then she smiled the biggest smile. “Can you finish reading me the story?”

I picked up the book with my free hand, still holding hers with the other. My vision was blurry from tears but I kept reading. And when I finished, Amara asked me to read another one. So I did.

I read to her for three hours that day. Read until she fell asleep, her hand still holding mine.

When I finally left, the nurse stopped me in the hallway. “That was the happiest I’ve seen her since she got here. Thank you.”

“I’m coming back tomorrow,” I told her. “And the day after that. And every day until… until she doesn’t need me anymore.”

The nurse’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re a good man, Mike.”

I shook my head. “I’m just a dad who misses his little girl. And now I’ve got another little girl who needs a dad.”

I came back the next day. And the next. And the next.

I started arriving at 2 PM every day and staying until visiting hours ended at 8 PM. Six hours a day with Amara. Reading stories. Watching cartoons. Playing simple games when she had the energy. Just sitting quietly and holding her hand when she didn’t.

The nurses started calling me “Amara’s dad.” The doctors would give me updates on her condition like I was actual family. CPS stopped looking for foster placement because technically Amara had family now. Me.

Two weeks in, AmarContinue reading…