Tell Me Why

Reading the obituary, naming his father as a dead man's estranged son, left Ryan speechless. Who was this man, and why hadn't he and his brother Rayden ever even heard of him? Because of this incident, the boys come to realize they know nothing of their father's childhood. Why? Therein lies the title, Tell Me Why. When growing up in a happy, stable home, sometimes one never thinks of oddities. For the Miller boys, the fact that their last names and those of their grandmother and dad's brother were different never occurred to them. That's just the way it always had been. Sometimes, a jarring episode changes things. On Monday morning, one of Ryan's friends walked up to him before school and offered condolences over the loss of his grandfather. Ryan had no idea what the boy was talking about. Their family had eaten dinner with his grandpa the night before. His friend said his mother had showed him the obituary that morning, and he should check it out with the school counselor who always carried the daily paper in his pocket. Ryan raced to the front of the school and found the man leaning against the wall chatting with other teachers as the kids entered the building. Mr. Martin took him to his office and showed him the obituary. The questions started there.