When my estranged father, who left 20 years ago, called from his deathbed, I was torn between anger and curiosity. His final wish was something I never expected, and what he revealed about his disappearance shattered everything I thought I knew.

I was getting ready for bed when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. The number was unfamiliar, so I let it go to voicemail. Not even a minute later, a text came through: “ALICE, THIS IS YOUR DAD. PLEASE CALL, I AM IN THE HOSPITAL.”

My heart stopped. Dad? After twenty years? I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the message. Part of me wanted to delete it and forget, but curiosity won. I called the number back.

I have not seen my dad for most of my life. He left my mom and me when I was a teenager and never came back home. I tried not to think about him often, and it almost worked, until one night I got a call from an unknown number. When I hung up, I got a text saying, “ALICE, THIS IS YOUR DAD. PLEASE CALL. I AM IN THE HOSPITAL.”