Then one day he appeared at my door – frail, sunburned, and trembling. He sat at the edge of the sofa and whispered, “Son… I’m sick. The doctor says I need surgery—₱60,000. I have no one else to ask.”
I looked at him and remembered everything about his sacrifices, the nights he stayed up worrying, the mornings he walked me to school through the rain. Then I said softly, “I can’t. I won’t give you a single cent.”
He just nodded. His eyes filled with pain, but he didn’t protest. He rose quietly, like a beggar turned away.

He broke down crying. I held him tight, weeping too.
From that day, he lived with us. My wife welcomed him warmly, treating him as her own father. Though old, he still helped around the house, and we often traveled together.
People sometimes ask, “Why treat your adoptive father so well when he couldn’t give you much before?” Continue reading…