Single Dad Daughter Asked About Her Mother | English Listening Practice for Beginners

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:05]This is Lily.

[00:00:07]She is 6 years old. She has her father's eyes and her mother's smile.

[00:00:13]She doesn't know that yet. She is sitting in her bed with a stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her nightlight is on. The room is warm. Her father Sam is tucking her in like every night.

[00:00:28]Daddy.

[00:00:30]>> Hm.

[00:00:31]>> Where is my mommy? Everyone at school has a mommy. Emma has a mommy. Jack has a mommy. Priya has two mommies.

[00:00:40]>> Lily, >> do I have a mommy?

[00:00:43]>> Yes, you have a mommy.

[00:00:46]>> Where is she?

[00:00:48]>> It's late, sweetheart. Let's talk tomorrow.

[00:00:52]>> You always say tomorrow. Is she gone like grandpa is gone?

[00:00:57]>> Go to sleep, Lily. I love you.

[00:01:04]>> The next morning, Sam walks Lily to school. She is quiet. That is not like her. At the school gate, her friend Emma runs up.

[00:01:15]>> Lily, did you bring your showand tell thing? I forgot. What were you going to bring?

[00:01:23]I was going to bring a photo of my family, but I only have me and daddy.

[00:01:29]>> Where's your mom?

[00:01:31]>> I don't know. Daddy, I want to know today. Please.

[00:01:39]>> Okay. Today, I promise.

[00:01:42]>> Really?

[00:01:44]>> Really?

[00:01:51]Sam has one person he talks to when things get hard. His sister Nora.

[00:01:57]She asked again. She's not going to stop asking.

[00:02:02]>> Sam, she's six. She's old enough to know something.

[00:02:09]>> How do I explain it? How do I tell a six-year-old that her mother loved her but couldn't stay?

[00:02:16]You tell her the true part, the part that won't hurt her.

[00:02:22]>> What if there's no part that doesn't hurt?

[00:02:25]>> Then you sit next to her when it hurts.

[00:02:28]That's all you can do.

[00:02:31]>> She drew a picture of our family.

[00:02:34]There's just two people in it.

[00:02:38]>> Sam, that little girl has never once doubted that she is loved.

[00:02:45]You did that. You gave her that. Now give her one more thing.

[00:02:51]The truth.

[00:02:58]When Lily comes home, Sam is sitting on the sofa waiting. The envelope is on the coffee table. Lily drops her backpack.

[00:03:09]She sees his face. She sits down next to him without being asked.

[00:03:15]Is this the talk?

[00:03:17]>> Yes, this is the talk.

[00:03:20]>> Okay.

[00:03:22]>> This is your mommy. Her name was Maya.

[00:03:26]>> She's pretty.

[00:03:28]>> She was very pretty and very smart and very funny. She used to laugh so loud that the neighbors could hear her.

[00:03:39]>> Like me.

[00:03:40]>> Exactly like you.

[00:03:43]was >> your mommy got very sick, Lily, when you were very, very little. Before you could remember, >> how sick?

[00:03:54]>> The kind of sick that doctors couldn't fix. She tried very hard. She fought for a long time.

[00:04:03]>> Did she die?

[00:04:05]>> Yes, sweetheart. She did.

[00:04:08]>> Was I there?

[00:04:09]>> You were there. She held you. She talked to you every single day.

[00:04:16]>> What did she say?

[00:04:18]>> She wrote this for you. She wanted me to read it to you when you were old enough.

[00:04:25]>> She wrote me a letter.

[00:04:27]>> She wrote you a letter.

[00:04:30]>> Sam unfolds the paper slowly. His hands are not quite steady. He begins to read.

[00:04:39]My darling Lily, I don't know how old you are when you hear this, but I know you are beautiful. I know you are kind.

[00:04:49]I know you have your father's eyes, and I hope you have my laugh.

[00:04:55]I need you to know one thing, my love.

[00:04:58]Leaving you was the hardest thing in the world.

[00:05:03]But staying in your heart that I can do forever.

[00:05:10]Let your daddy love you. He loves you enough for both of us.

[00:05:16]And so do I. Always.

[00:05:19]Mommy.

[00:05:21]>> She sounds nice.

[00:05:24]>> She was the nicest person I ever knew.

[00:05:28]>> Do you miss her?

[00:05:30]>> Every day.

[00:05:32]Me, too. Even though I don't remember her.

[00:05:36]>> That's okay. You can miss someone even if you only know them through a photograph and a letter.

[00:05:43]>> Daddy?

[00:05:44]>> Yes.

[00:05:46]>> Can I keep the photo in my room?

[00:05:48]>> I brought it home just for you.

[00:05:51]>> And the letter?

[00:05:53]>> That's yours? She wrote it for you.

[00:05:57]>> Daddy, I don't think she's really gone.

[00:06:01]What do you mean?

[00:06:03]>> I think she's just somewhere else watching.

[00:06:08]>> I think so, too.

[00:06:16]That night after dinner, Lily sits at the kitchen table with her crayons.

[00:06:23]Sam washes the dishes. He watches her from the corner of his eye.

[00:06:28]She is drawing.

[00:06:31]Her tongue sticks out when she concentrates.

[00:06:34]After a while, she holds it up.

[00:06:38]>> Look, Daddy.

[00:06:41]>> Who's that up there?

[00:06:43]>> That's mommy. She's watching.

[00:06:46]>> That's the best drawing you've ever made.

[00:06:49]>> Because now our family is complete. Some questions are frightening to answer, but sometimes the answer is exactly what both people needed.

[00:07:00]Sam had been protecting Lily from the truth, but the truth given gently with love, didn't break her. It made her feel whole.