Part 1: Rejection in the White Room

The news of Robert’s injuries was relayed to Sarah in the military’s usual euphemistic language, but Sarah understood it was a catastrophe. She immediately traveled thousands of miles to the field hospital.

There, Robert refused all visits. He had locked himself in physical and emotional pain. He had lost a significant part of himself, and the fear of Lily rejecting him again had turned into a determination to self-isolate.

“I cannot see her,” Robert told the military psychologist. “I would rather she remember the perfect face that called me ‘Daddy’ last time, than see the horror in her eyes when she looks at me now.”

Sarah refused to accept this. She used her authority (as the legal wife of a soldier wounded in the line of duty) to force Robert to confront reality. When she walked in, Robert turned his back, trying to conceal his bandaged, disfigured face.

“I don’t care what your face looks like, Robert,” Sarah wept. “This is the price of the freedom you fought for. I accept it.”

Part 2: The Fear Becomes Reality

Robert was discharged early and returned home with half a disfigured face and a crutch. The physical wounds healed, but his soul did not.

Lily, now a little older, still could not overcome her fear. As soon as Robert reached out, Lily screamed hysterically, turning and running away from the man she couldn’t recognize, the man who brought fear. Robert’s heart shattered. The curse had become a reality.

The following years were a grueling test. Robert was patient; he never forced his presence. He sat quietly in the corner, observing, fixing toys, or reading while Sarah held Lily. Lily grew up next to the disfigured father, the father who gave her a silent, constant love. She often kept her distance, but Robert’s wordless persistence gradually soothed her fear.

Part 3: Acceptance and the Vow of Succession (1964)

Years passed. Lily grew into a beautiful, strong, and intelligent young woman. She never completely forgot the childhood trauma, but her understanding of history and sacrifice had matured.

One day, when Lily was 18, she found her father’s old uniform in the closet and the crumpled letters Robert had sent home. She read about the ideal of freedom, about the independence her father had fought for. She understood that her father’s disfigured face was not a curse, but the highest symbol of love for his Nation and family.

Lily approached Robert, who was sitting reading the newspaper. She gently touched the undamaged half of his face: “Daddy,” she said, her voice choked. “I understand now. This face… this is the face I must remember.”

That moment healed Robert’s spirit.

The Historical Turning Point: A few years later, while Robert and Sarah both thought their beloved daughter would pursue art, Lily shocked them. She decided to follow her father’s path.

At her Navy enlistment ceremony, Lily stood tall in her uniform, looking straight at her aging, psychologically healed father.

“Daddy,” Lily said, her hand resting on her lapel. “I will continue to dedicate myself to the Nation, to keep the independence that you paid for with your face, whole and eternal. I will be the sailor you have always been.”

Robert did not cry. He stood there, the face of a war hero, now accepting his scars. He smiled, a happy and proud smile. He had won his toughest battle: conquering his daughter’s heart and passing on the flame of duty.