Early in the morning, I was awakened by the sound of Dad on a call. From the snippets of conversation I could hear, it was our relatives from Mom's side. They hadn't attended Mom's funeral because they lived in a different country, and we fully understood. Their absence was never about a lack of love; it was just one of those painful circumstances where distance became an insurmountable obstacle.
Now they wanted to spend time with us, for the first time. We had planned this last year, but for various reasons, it didn't happen. We postponed it to this year, but then Mom passed away. It felt like a cruel twist of fate, delaying a reunion we all needed.
They called to finally make it happen, offering to cover all the expenses. They were talking about spending two weeks together, and as Dad
