Someone Was Constantly Leaving Flowers at My Dad’s Grave – Soon, I Discovered the Shocking Truth That Broke My Heart

After Celine's father dies, she is left with having to navigate the weight of her grief. Everywhere she turns, there are pieces of her father. On her many trips to the cemetery, she finds that there are always fresh flowers left. One day, she catches an unfamiliar woman rearranging flowers at the site. Who is this mysterious figure, and how does she fit into the family tree?

We've all heard that grief comes in waves—and there's more than enough truth to back that up. When my father died, it was exactly that. There was an overwhelming sense of loneliness that filled every space I walked into.

And more than that—as time went on, it just got worse. Every little thing reminded me about him. From the flannel shirts I wore, to the buttered toast I ate, not to mention my car, which my father had chosen.

But nothing could have prepared me for the truth that would be revealed at my father's grave.

"Come on, Celine," my mother said as she applied her lipstick in the hall mirror. "We're going to be late."

We were meeting some of our family friends for lunch—for the past few weeks, we were just trying to get out of the comfort zone that we had put ourselves into.

My mother and I had become hermits. And while we were used to my father being away, because he worked between our town and the town over as an electrician—the absence now was just too suffocating.

A days ago, while my mother and I were baking brownies, she put on her serious voice.

"Celine," she said firmly. "We cannot go on like this. We need to heal from your father's death and move on with it. We have to take his memory and keep it alive. We need to get back into our routines and live our lives."

I had to agree with her. While I mourned my father, I hated that I was just as echo of who I used to be.

Now, putting on my shoes, I was ready to spend a few hours outside of the house, soaking up the sunshine and eating good food.

"I'm ready!" I called from my bedroom. "I'll drive!"

We sat in the car, my mother singing along to the music on the radio.

"This is good," she said. "We need to get out of the house now and again, sweetheart."

Fifteen minutes later, we met our people—and I knew that they would be the joy that my mother and I needed. We sat together and ate, and laughed.

As we were getting ready to head back home, we decided to visit my father's grave.

"I just want to pay my respects," my mother said.

I stopped at the florist and picked up a beautiful bouquet of flowers to leave at the graveside.

The thing is, I went to visit my father's grave every week—on a Friday during work. And I tried to take flowers as much as possible, but there were always fresh flowers laid there, too.

I couldn't figure out who would leave flowers. Sure, we had a big family, but when it came to the immediate family—it had just been the three of us.

And I knew that my mother wouldn't have done it because she refused to go alone.

"Cemeteries are creepy, sweetheart," she would always say. Even on the day of the funeral, my mother held tightly to my arm.

I found them to be peaceful—there was an ethereal quality to the marble headstones that stood as silent guardians of memories and secrets. It was here, that people were laid to rest.

As we neared the row of my father's grave, the sight of an older woman, her hands tenderly arranging flowers at his site, brought an uneasy stillness to my heart. My mother, usually a fortress of strength, hesitated beside me, her eyes tracing the unfamiliar figure with a mix of curiosity and an unspoken fear.

"Good afternoon," I ventured, my voice breaking despite the silence. "Have you been leaving these beautiful flowers?"

The woman turned, her face etched with lines of sorrow and worry.

"Hello," she said. "Who are you?"

"We're Donald's family," my mother replied. "Greta and Celine."

The woman's reaction was immediate, a mix of shock and disbelief painting her features.

"Are you kidding me? His family? How are you his family? I'm Donald's partner, and the mother of his son, Alex."

The words hung in the air, a crow flew overhead and my mother gripped my arm again.

The revelation that my father, the pillar of our lives, had another family, was a truth too monumental to grasp in that moment.

"That is impossible," my mother whispered, her voice barely carrying through the silence.

"We didn't know," I managed, my own voice sounding foreign to my ears.

How could he have had another family? Sure, he stayed away several times a week—but my father loved us conditionally. He doted on my mother. He spoilt me.

How could the same man have lived a life divided?

"Why didn't we know about each other?" my mother finally asked, the question directed as much to the universe as to the woman before us.

"Did you know about us?" I asked.

I wanted her to say that she had absolutely no clue about us. And explain that my father had lived away half the time from her, too.

Instead, she smiled slowly and sadly.

"Donald wanted to tell you, I swear," the woman said, her voice breaking. "But he couldn't find the courage. And then we found out that we were pregnant with Alex, and it just was too late. It seemed impossible."

"How long?" I asked, the question burning in my throat.

I thought of all the moments that we had shared together, alone. Had he ever wanted to just tell me? To just blurt out that he loved another family, too.

The thought alone released my tears.

"Years," the woman replied, her eyes meeting mine. "Years of shared moments, laughter and tears. He loved you both, of course. But he just loved Alex and I, too."

The simplicity of her admission felt like a salve to the raw edges of my disbelief.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw things at her. But in my heart, I knew that she was just a fellow mourner of the man we both loved.

"We should meet your son," my mother suggested.

I could tell that she was trying to understand the reality of the situation. She didn't want to be angry at the memory of the man we all loved in our ways.

"Sure," she said, reaching out for the flowers I had brought.

Meticulously, she began to arrange them at my father's grave—mixing them with her own.

A few weeks later, I met my younger brother, Alex, at a diner. He was the only other living link to the father we both thought we knew.

"I didn't know about you and your mom," Alex admitted while digging into his burger. "Please don't think that I knew all along."

I smiled at him, he had the same need to please people—just like myself.

"I'm your sister," I said.

Alex smiled and continued to eat his food—it was the only thing to do while we navigated the awkwardness of the situation.

Alex had my father's nose and the same shape of his eyes. We shared the same chin and freckles. It was unnerving, looking at him. I wondered if I would have picked him out of a crowd of people.

"He talked about you, though," Alex said.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Well, about the daughter of a person he worked with. Celine. And that she was as stubborn as she was kind. I only realized that he had been speaking about you when my Mom told me your name."

I nodded. It felt good to know that my father had spoken about me. But it still hurt my heart to know that he spoke about me as a stranger.

"He said that you loved to draw. And paint," Alex said, popping a fry into his mouth.

"I do," I admitted.

I thought about the half-done mural of my father. I had started working on it—in the living room, next to the television, so that Mom and I would always see him.

But since that day at the cemetery, I just couldn't find a way to paint again. Hearing the truth had shut off any access I had to my art.

I went home that evening, looking forward to just sitting with my mom.

"How did it go?" she asked me, handing me a cup of hot chocolate.

"He seems like a great kid," I said simply.

"Was it difficult?" she pushed gently.

"Yes, and no," I said. "It's strange to look at him and see Dad's features. But you'll see it for yourself next weekend when they come over."

"I don't know if I'm looking forward to it," she said, picking up her book.

In the months that followed, my mother and I were forced out of our routine. We suddenly had to make room for my father's secret life, and the people that came with it.

My mother had reached out to Lauren, asking her over for a family barbecue. She thought that we all needed to be together to heal.

But I think it's infinitely more difficult than that.

I'll only know that I'm okay when I pick up my art things again. For now, I'm still hurt.

What would you do?

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