“Dad, What’s That?” — A Short Story

Disclaimer:
This is a short story I recently heard and it really touched my heart. I wanted to share it with you guys. I am not sure of its origins or of the original author. But the content is purely my thought.

A man was walking in a park with his four-year-old son, holding his hand.

Suddenly a bird caught the eye of the boy and he excitedly asked his father, “Dad, what’s that?”

“It’s a crow”, replied the father lovingly.

They walked a few more steps when the boy started pulling his father’s hand yelling and pointing toward a tree, “Dad, what’s that?”

The father followed the boy’s gaze, smiled at him, and replied, “It’s a crow.”

The duo started walking, again. After a few more steps, the boy pulled his father’s hand, “Dad, what’s that?”

Once again, the father replied calmly, “Son, it’s a crow.” This went on for a while until they finally decided to head home.

The moment they reached back, the father directly went to his room, opened his journal, and jotted down, “I took my son to the park today. He asked me thirty times about crows, and it was the cutest thing in the world.”

Thirty years went by. The father was now old and weary, while the son, now thirty-two, had become very busy.

The father hadn’t seen his son in days. Hesitantly he picked up his phone and called him with a quivering hand.

“Son!”

“What is it, Dad? I am a bit busy.” The father noticed the arrogance in his son’s voice.

“Can you come, please?” requested the father in a quavering voice.

The son, noticeably agitated by the conversation, questions, “Why Dad? I’ve got work to do.”

“Son, please… I just need fifteen minutes.”

“Oh! Alright. I’ll try to be there as soon as possible.” The son replied angrily and hung up.

As the father saw his son coming, he stepped out of the house slowly. Supporting every step with a cane in one hand and a notebook in the other.

When the son approached him, the father requested him to take him to the park.

Expressing irritation at his Dad’s request, the son did as requested, hoping for it all to end soon.

When they reached the park, the son asked, “Is it going to take long, Dad?”

“Don’t worry, I know you are a very busy man. Please walk with me for a while,” replied the father looking at his son with tired eyes.

They walked silently into the park. The father grabbed his son’s hand and asked abruptly, “Son, what is that?” pointing to a bird drinking from the fountain.

“Dad! Seriously! Is it a game? It’s a crow”. The father turned and walked toward a park bench with his gaze lowered. He had noticed the frustration in his son’s tone.

As he sat down, he pointed at a bird in a tree and called his son, “Son, what is that?”

The son, furious at the old man’s behavior, started yelling at his father, “THIS IS WHAT YOU DRAGGED ME ALL THE WAY HERE FOR? IS IT SOME KIND OF A JOKE? I JUST GOT YOU NEW GLASSES A FEW WEEKS BACK. CAN’T YOU SEE? IT’S A CROW DAD. IT’S A GODFORSAKEN CROW!”

The father grabbed his son by the wrist, pulled him down, and sat him next to himself on the bench. The son felt uncomfortable by the gaze of the onlookers. Yet, he ignored his father.

His weary old father then opened the notebook he had brought and told his son, “You know thirty years ago on this very day, something beautiful happened to me. I just wanted to share that with you son.”

Teary-eyed, he handed the open notebook to his son. Confused and angry, the son turned his attention to the opened page and read,

“I took my son to the park today. He asked me thirty times about crows, and it was the cutest thing in the world.”