When I was a kid, one of my activities was reading books. Even if I didn't want to do it, I had no choice. Mum and Dad set it as my daily routine even if it was only couple of pages before bedtime. Despite their disagreement, I used to stay up late to finish a book. I still remember those memorable secret nights with me under my blanket with my key-chain flashlight as my light source reading my book page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter. I was the main character of the story trying to save the world, falling in love with a handsome wealthy or poor man, fighting in a battle zone, discovering an unknown world, waiting to be rescued by a prince, and many more. After I was done with every book, we had a discussion night. I had to review the book for Mum and Dad and talk about what I learned. There was never a shortage of books in our household, and also Mum and Dad used to get me new ones, and they still do. I read books by great authors; such as, Mark Twain, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, Stephen Crane, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, and many many more. But my most favourite book was 'Vater und Sohn' (Father and Son) by Erich Ohser.
Father and Son is a 3 volumes collection of wordless black and white comic strip, featuring a father and son day to day events and their relationship in a humorous way. The father is a bald man with a thick black mustache who smokes pipe, and the son, Eric is a little boy who always gets in trouble because he doesn't listen to his father's advice. But the father is always supportive of his son despite his mistakes and tries to teach him the rights from the wrongs. I used to spend hours and hours looking at each panel. The cartoons weren't the only reason I was drawn to the book. The six panels on each page was a story of my life. I was seeing myself in the son, and the father was reminding me of my dad. The rebellions and the stupidities of Eric were so familiar to me that there was no need for words to describe the story. I flipped those pages so many times until I lost the cover and the pages came out one by one. I even knew which page every story was. But did that stop me from making the mistakes Eric did in the book? From what I did and what I do, the answer is no.
Today is Father's Day! The word 'father' is very sacred to me. And it only means one thing — it only reminds me of one person. And it is you, Dad. Every time I think of you, something drops inside me. It makes me shiver. It's hard to describe, but thinking about you, makes me very emotional. You and Mum gave me life. You raised me. You taught me about life. You let me make my own decisions. You let me create my own destiny. You gave me confidence. You let me make mistakes. But every time I fell, you were there for me to grab my hand and help me to stand on my feet again. You never let me stay on the ground for more than needed. I must say, every time I rebelled against your wise council, I got in trouble. But you were always behind me. You always supported me no matter what. You comforted me. You guided me. You always made time for me despite your busy schedule. You always listened to my thoughts and dreams even if they were bullshits. I felt like as if I was the smartest and the most important person in the universe. I am an adult now. Or let's say, I'm tying to be acting like one. But you still do and do and do all those things for me.
Today is Father's Day, but I don't think I need just one specific day to remind me of your kindness, your sacrifices, your supports, your dedications and all the goods you've done and keep doing for me. And there's no way I can thank you enough for those. I cherish you. I worship you. I respect you. I admire you. I'm very honoured to have you in my life. I wish there were more men like you in my life. You are sacred to me, Dad. I love you. Happy Father's Day!
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