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TIFU by ignoring my dad’s last phone call because I was “busy”

This happened a few months ago but it hit me again today. My dad used to call me randomly in the evenings just to talk about nothing. Weather, work, some neighbor drama, whatever was on TV. I’d usually answer, but sometimes I’d let it ring and text him later.

One night he called while I was out with friends. It wasn’t anything important, so I declined it and sent, “Can I call you tomorrow?” He replied with a thumbs up.Tomorrow never really came.

He ended up in the hospital that night. It wasn’t instant, it wasn’t dramatic, but things went downhill fast. By the time I saw him again, he couldn’t really talk. We had a few quiet moments, but not a real conversation. Today I was going through old photos and saw a screenshot of a random meme he sent me. Under it was that missed call.

It wasn’t some huge final speech. He probably just wanted to talk about something small and forgettable. And that’s the part that hurts the most. It was an ordinary moment I treated like it would always be there. I know logically it’s not my fault. People miss calls all the time. But I still replay it in my head wondering what he wanted to say.

TL;DR: Ignored my dad’s call because I was busy. It was the last time he tried to call me before ending up in the hospital.

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