saajida_rafique this is for you girl 

I take a seat on the wooden bench in the audience. The room is full with proud parents and happy children, everyone excited to see the little dance performance created by our kids. My daughter Ruhi stands in the middle of the room, talking to her friends. Her black curls are in an elegant style and her little body is put in a Fairy dress. She looks adorable.

Her eyes catch me and she immediately waves at me, a huge smile forming on her lips but it disappears as fast as it came when she spots the empty seat next to me. To cheer her up I blow her a kiss and put my thumbs up but I all get is a little smile.

Hussain will come.

I know he will.

All the parents take a seat but the seat next to me stays empty, earmarked for my daughter's father. The music starts playing and my heart warms up when I see my little daughter dancing her choreography. The smile is back on her lips and I glance every few seconds to the door to check if he finally arrived but the door doesn't open once.

Twenty minutes later and the performance is over. I get up and make my way to my daughter who is talking to her friends with an excited voice. But a frown replaces the smile when she sees that all her friends get a hug by their fathers. I kneel down beside her and she wraps her arms around my neck when she sees me without her father. Her head is buried in the crook of my neck while my hands stroke her back, comforting her.

"Daddy didn't come, right?" She asks, her voice sounds so sad and innocent that it tears on my heart.

"No sweetie. He couldn't make it to your performance." Again.

"Why can every other daddy come to watch but not mine?"

"Because your daddy has to work a lot."

"Daddy loves his job more than me, right?" She asks me and I see tears shimmering in her black and drown eyes. I shake my hand and hug her again, kiss her cheek and tell her how much we love her.

"He loves you more than anything. You are the best that happened to him. He will come to your next performance. I promise you he will." I feel so bad for making promises where I don't know if I can keep them. I hate to give her hope just to disappoint her when he can't make it again. But he really tries to come, he really wants to see her dance, he just cannot fulfill his wishes because his job is in his way.

"Daddy won't come to my next performance. I know he won't, Mommy." She says and takes my hand. My heart breaks with her words.

She already gave all her hopes up.