I Chose the Concert Over My Dad's Funeral

It was one a.m., and I was the only one left in the office. The light from the computer screen illuminated my face; there were still two pages of the project report left to finish editing. Suddenly, my mobile phone vibrated, and the screen lit up with the name "Lily Lee." My heart skipped a beat. I answered the call, and immediately her heart-wrenching sobs came through, mixed with chaotic background noise. "Daisy, your dad... your dad suddenly had a heart attack and didn't make it..." Her voice was broken and uneven, each word hitting my ears like a heavy hammer. "The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow. Hurry and ask for leave to come back, to see him one last time." I held the mobile phone, my gaze resting on the concert ticket at the corner of the table, my fingertips unable to resist lightly touching it. It was a front-row ticket to Sam's very first solo concert. I spent three whole months monitoring the ticket platform for it, and in the end, I paid five thousand to a ticket broker—almost half a month's salary. "I'm not going back." I heard my own voice, calm—too calm for someone who had just heard their 'father' had died. "I'm going to the concert tomorrow. My phone will be on silent. Don't disturb me." There was silence on the other end for a full three seconds, then Lily Lee shouted angrily, "Your dad's dead! Daisy Clark! Your dad is gone!" I put the phone on speaker, set it beside my keyboard, and kept my eyes on the screen, revising the report. "I know, you just said that." I stayed late at the office today just to finish the report, so that taking tomorrow off wouldn't delay the project. The sound of fingers tapping the keyboard mixed with the crying on the phone was somewhat piercing. Just thinking about seeing Sam up close tomorrow and singing along with everyone made the corners of my mouth lift. It's a wish I've waited three years for—how could I give it up because of a "funeral"? "Your dad worked hard raising you for over twenty years! He toiled his whole life and ended up with this because of you!" Lily Lee's voice was trembling with tears, tinged with disbelief and anger. "He's dead, and you won't even come back to see him, yet you choose to go to some worthless concert! You ungrateful wretch!" Sounds of chairs and tables being moved came through the phone; the relatives must have gathered around. I heard Second Uncle Yale Clark's voice: "Lily, are you sure you made yourself clear? Daisy has always been dutiful, sending gifts every holiday. How could she just not come back?" "Exactly, it must be a misunderstanding."Third Aunt's voice interjected, "Give me the phone; I'll talk to her." After a rustling noise, Uncle Jim Clark's voice came through: "Daisy, I checked, and there are still tickets for the 5 o'clock high-speed train tomorrow. Book that one. I'll pick you up on the tricycle at the village entrance; we'll just make it in time for the funeral." They didn't listen to a word I said and went ahead arranging my schedule on their own. A sudden wave of anger surged within me. After typing the last word, I shut the laptop: "I said, I'm not going back. I'm going to the concert." "I'm off work now. Goodbye." "See? I wasn't wrong! She's such an ungrateful brat!" Before hanging up, Lily Lee's sobs mingled with the relatives' insults, sounding like a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes. The mobile phone kept ringing nonstop, call after call, until the fiftieth call came through and it completely died, shutting off. The office finally fell silent, with only the cold air from the air conditioner blowing. Just after four the next morning, I was awakened by urgent knocking at the door. Half-awake, I reached for my phone; the screen was dark—it still hadn't charged. "Bang bang bang—" The knocking grew louder, as if trying to break down the security door. Rubbing my eyes, I got up, walked to the door, and looked through the peephole; my heart immediately sank. Outside the door stood a dense crowd—Lily Lee, Jim Clark, Yale Clark, along with Third Aunt and Fourth Uncle... almost every relative and acquaintance had come.