An Only Child
My parents were soulmates, so I never knew why I was an only child. I found out when I turned 18; the day I was born, the doctors found an inoperable brain tumor in my mom. They told her she could live to be 100 or die tomorrow, but could never have another kid.
My dad asked what she wanted out of life, and her response was heartbreaking: She requested that her daughter never ever know.
She didn’t want me to grow up scared, but I was the only one kept in the dark. Our town, our friends, our family, everyone but me knew for 18 years.
I found out the hard way when I left home for college. My mom passed on the first day I got there.
The dorm room phone was ringing the moment my dad and I stepped in with our first load of boxes. Story credit: Reddit / BeBeWozo