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Hi listeners, I'm Shai Shirei and I have a story I want to tell you.

A story once told by a frightened father on his deathbed.

So, gather round and listen close.

My dad was married once before he met my mom.

We always knew that growing up but no one really talked about it.

My mom was the only mother my older sister and I ever had.

And she loved us both like we were her own.

And of course, she loved my dad too.

And dad loved her.

But he always carried his first wife with him, even if he never brought her up.

It wasn't until just before he died that he told me the whole story.

It was obviously hard for him to talk about but I think not saying anything was even harder.

I suppose I'm telling it to you for the same reason.

Even though just thinking about it gives me chills.

Dad's first wife was named Lily.

The two of them met fresh out of school and fell head over heels for each other as they say.

She was pretty, dark-haired, tall.

Apparently she thought he was pretty too, though he could never figure out why.

They shared that first love together, that love that feels like you're two people at the end of the world.

From a young age, they saved up their money to start a family.

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