Young Girl Receives a Reply from Her Father's Email Years after His Death – Story of the Day

Maria’s father died from a sudden heart attack when she was starting college. They often kept in touch through email, so Maria continued sending him messages long after he was gone. But one day, she received an unexpected reply.

“Our deepest condolences, Maria. He was one of the best men we knew,” her father’s neighbor, Mrs. Alexandra Juarez, told her. Maria’s father Ricardo died unexpectedly, and they were at his funeral. Everyone was giving Maria their condolences.

She was his last living relative. Her mother died when she was just five years old. Now, I’m truly an orphan, she thought as other guests offered their sympathies. But nothing they had to say would soothe her pain.

Ricardo had been her best friend in the world, and he tried his hardest to make her childhood unforgettable when her mother passed. They lived in San Antonio, Texas, and the entire community had gathered to say goodbye.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call us, Maria. You are not alone in this,” another guest told her, but she was barely listening. She wanted to go back home and cry alone in her room. Luckily, people left quickly.

Maria spent the next three days in bed, but she had to get up. She was 18 years old and a college student. Her professors would only give her so much leniency, especially in a challenging course like engineering.

She was a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, which was a point of pride for her father. He told everyone who would listen when she got accepted. Now, she was determined to graduate with honors and become successful in his honor.

But first, Maria had to shower, eat, and start answering some school emails. It was while she was checking her mail that she saw her father’s last email to her, which was sent from his work account because he didn’t know how to open a personal email.

Missing her father even more, Maria sighed and thought about not returning to her dorm anymore. She decided to email the faculty to explain her situation. After all, the house was near school, and it had so much more privacy. Luckily, her adviser agreed it was the best for her.

Unfortunately, that was not enough to make her smile. I wish I could write to him again, Maria thought.

“Who says I can’t write to him anymore?” she whispered to herself. So Maria began writing to her father. She wrote about the funeral and how much she missed him. Pressing send gave her a sense of peace like no other.

Soon, Maria was sending an email to her father every day. She knew no one would ever read it, and the messages became her journal. Two years went by, and Maria had sent at least one email every single day.

Her therapist even encouraged it because she was always happier after she did. Luckily, she maintained her grades and excelled at her favorite subjects. She was now in the middle of her junior year and thinking about what to do after graduation.

There were still two and half semesters left in her education, but Maria had to think about going to graduate school or applying for internships. She was making a pro-con list on her computer when an email pinged.

It was from her father’s account. “What?!” she accidentally yelled as she sat in her home alone. Was this a joke? Who had access to my dad’s account? Maria worried silently. Opening the reply seemed almost too scary, but she had to do it.

As she bega reading the message, she gasped. “Hello, Maria. My name is Rodrigo Gonzalez. I work in the I.T. department of Ironmaster. I was supposed to suspend your father’s email two years ago, but then I saw that you were emailing him every day,” the reply began.

“I couldn’t do it after reading a few of your messages. I’m sorry for invading your privacy; I got curious. Ricardo was one of the most beloved workers here, and I didn’t want to delete the account if it gave you peace,” Rodrigo continued.

Maria started crying, but she wasn’t angry. The I.T. guy had been kind enough to let her keep the account.

“But now, I truly have to delete it because we’re moving to a whole new server. But I wanted to tell you first. And I would like to meet you if that’s possible. I believe you know my mother, Mrs. Juarez. I think she always wanted to set us up but forgot. Think about it, and let me know,” Rodrigo finished, adding his email and phone number at the bottom.

Maria barely remembered Rodrigo from a neighborhood potluck. Maybe I should give him a chance, she thought.

A few days later, she wrote to her father’s account, and the message bounced back. That meant Rodrigo had closed it at last. So Maria took the plunge and sent a reply to Rodrigo’s email.

He answered, and it began a series of messages between them, until they agreed to meet at a café nearby where they hit it off straight away. Rodrigo told Maria that he didn’t read all her messages to her father, but some of her emails brought him comfort too.

“My grandfather was my favorite person in the world. But I was ten when he died. I didn’t understand that pain very well. But your words helped me put those feelings into context. I think I hadn’t healed from his passing until reading your emails,” he explained.

Maria was flattered, and the rest of their conversation flowed smoothly. Rodrigo was handsome, sensitive, and funny too. They started meeting more often as friends, then their relationship developed into romance.

They moved in together after her graduation and got married shortly afterward. Maria couldn’t believe she found love by writing to her late father's work email. Life is crazy, she thought.

What can we learn from this story?

• Mourning has many forms. Everyone has different ways of dealing with grief, and Maria did it by sending emails no one was supposed to read.
• Life can be quite surprising. If Maria had not continued emailing her father’s work account, she might not have met Rodrigo.

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