“YOU?! I have nothing to say to you,” he fumed, turning his back and preparing to exit the aircraft.

“They would be proud of you, just like the way I was the moment I heard your voice when this flight took off,” said Linda. “Alex, wait, please don’t go…I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

Alex stopped and, without turning back, asked Linda how she still recognized his voice.

“I would recognize your voice even in a crowd of millions. I love you so much, Alex.”

“I’ve been waiting to hear this from you for years,” said Alex. “All you had to do was say these words to set things straight. Why did it take you so long to say SORRY?”

As it turned out, Alex was Linda’s younger brother who had dreamed of becoming a pilot. But their father never approved of his ambition and constantly taunted him instead.

“I am not spending a dime on you to waste it in an air academy,” were the last words 10-year-old Alex heard from his father.

Their parents died in a car crash shortly after, and once the dust settled, Linda received an inheritance from them. The will stated she would also be in charge of Alex’s share until he turned 18.

While Alex thought he would be able to use his inheritance to go to school and then the air academy, Linda refused.

“We could use this money to buy a nice big house and a car. Why do you want to waste it when you know you’re not gonna be a successful pilot?!” she told Alex when he asked her about his share.

Furious, Alex told Linda to keep all the money and went to live with his grandparents. “I don’t even want to see you. Take all the money. I will achieve my dream by myself. Goodbye!”

Linda and Alex’s relationship remained strained for several years. At one point, Linda regretted burning bridges with him and even called him to apologize a year ago. But Alex had hung up on her as soon as he heard her voice, and all Linda heard from him was just a plain, “Hello, who is this?”

It was that same voice that made her shed tears when she heard his announcement during the flight.

“I’m not ready to talk to you anymore. I’m going,” said Alex, snapping Linda to reality.

“Alex, please, give me one chance. Please, I’m here to visit dad and mom’s graves. Please come with me. They would be watching us from heaven, and they will be proud of you….”

Linda begged and pleaded, but Alex wouldn’t listen. He turned his back on her and left the plane without looking back.

Hurt and disappointed, Linda got off the plane and waited to meet Alex, but he never showed up. Feeling heavy and crushed, she boarded a taxi and rode to her parents’ graves to commemorate their 20th death anniversary.

“Oh my God, I don’t believe this!” she said, slowing down as tears welled up. “Alex?” she cried and ran to him. He was standing by the graves of their parents.

“I forgive you, Linda. Let’s not talk about what happened years ago. I’m over it, and I want you to forget about it too, alright?!”

Tears of joy fogged Linda’s eyes as she hugged Alex. They laid wreaths on their parents’ graves, standing in silence for some time.

“Let’s go home!” said Alex, inviting Linda to his house.

• Do not decide your children’s future. Respect their dreams and let them pursue their ambitions. Alex had always wanted to become a pilot, but his dad thought he would be unsuccessful. However, Alex proved his father wrong by achieving his dream years later.
• It is never too late to apologize to someone you have hurt. Linda took years to apologize to her brother. Thankfully, he accepted her apology and forgave her, initiating a good start to their sibling reunion.