He woke up before the sun, the same way he had for nearly a century, rubbing his tired eyes with hands that had built a life from nothing. At 100 years old, his bones were fragile, his steps slow, but in his heart he still held the memories of a time when the world felt full of love and laughter. Today should have been a celebration—a day people rarely reach, a day that once would have filled his home with voices, with hugs, with warmth. But instead, he found himself sitting alone on the edge of his neatly made bed, staring out the window as the first light of morning slipped through the trees. A hundred years. And not a single knock on the door. Not a single phone call. Not even a forgotten birthday card in the mail. He slowly dressed himself in the plaid shirt he used to wear every year when his wife was alive. She always said he looked handsome in it, even when his hair began turning gray, and then white, and then thin. He wished she were here today.
She would have baked him his favorite cake, placed a candle on top, and kissed him on the forehead while whispering, “Make a wish, my love.” But she had been gone for almost twenty years now, and each year without her felt heavier than the last. Their children had moved far away. Their grandchildren had grown up in a world where life never stopped long enough to remember the man who once carried them on his shoulders and told them stories about constellations. He tried to understand—people get busy, time changes everything—but inside him, a quiet sadness tightened his chest. He stepped outside and sat on the old wooden bench he had built with his own hands in his forties. The wood was worn and old, but sturdy, just like him. The wind blew softly through the tall trees, and he listened to the sound, pretending it was his family’s laughter returning to him. He remembered the birthdays when the house overflowed with joy.
Children running around with frosting on their faces. His wife laughing so hard she snorted. The smell of warm bread, the warmth of hugs that felt like home. He remembered holding his newborn daughter for the first time, promising her he would always be there for her. And he remembered the day she moved away and never came back. Life has a way of changing people, he thought. Sometimes faster than we can understand. He stared at the ground, blinking away tears he didn’t want to shed, telling himself he shouldn’t feel this hurt. But he did. He was human. And even at 100 years old, he still wished—deep down—that someone would remember him. Just one person. One message. One “happy birthday.” He whispered to himself, “I guess… maybe I don’t matter anymore.” His voice cracked, barely audible. He wasn’t angry. Just heartbroken. It’s strange how a man can live through a century—through war, loss, heartbreak, and miracles—and still feel the sting of being forgotten. As he sat alone, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, a smile filled with sadness and hope. “If someone wished me happy birthday today,” he whispered, “I’d feel like I truly lived a life worth remembering.” The wind blew again, soft and gentle, as if the world itself was trying to comfort him. But the kind of comfort he needed… could only come from a human heart.