It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, the kind where the sky looked like a big, gray blanket, and puddles kept getting bigger and bigger. I was sitting on my bedroom floor, bored out of my mind. I could hear my dad downstairs digging through his stack of old CDs. HHe always said they were “from back in the day,” but I didn’t care so much about his music. It didn’t have the fast beats or cool raps I liked. But that day, something felt different.
A soft, smooth song started playing, floating up the stairs to my ears like magic. It wasn’t just music, it felt like someone was singing right to me. I got curious and went downstairs.
My dad was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed, swaying to the music. He looked so peaceful, like the song was taking him somewhere special.
His fingers were tapping along to the beat on the table and I noticed how much he smiled when they sang. It made me wonder what memories the song had brought back for him.
“Who is this?” I asked sitting next to him.
He opened his eyes and smiled. “This is Boyz II Men. The song is ‘End of The Road.’ It’s a classic.”
I nodded like I knew what he meant, but really I was just listening.
The voices were so smooth, and the way they blended together felt like a giant warm hug. “Listen to the words,” Dad said, pointing at the stereo. “It’s about heartbreak, they sing it so beautifully in a way anyone would understand.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes, just like my dad. The words were sad but they felt real like they were telling a story. It wasn’t just the words, though. It was how the singers put so much feeling into it like they really meant every note. It was like they were sharing a part of themselves with whoever was listening.
When the song ended, I sat there quietly. I felt calm but in a good way, like I’d just found something amazing.
“Can we play it again?” I asked.
Dad laughed and nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He hit the repeat button and the song repeated again.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon listening to more songs from the CD. Each one felt like a little story told through music. There was “Water Runs Dry” and “On Bended Knee.” Every song was different, but they all had the same magical feeling. I started singing along after a while, even though I didn’t know all the words. Dad smiled at me when I tried to hit the high notes. It felt like we were sharing something special.
By the time the rain stopped, I was hooked. I didn’t care about the loud beats or fast raps anymore. I wanted music that made me feel something.
I even asked Dad if we could listen to more of his CD’s sometime, and he said he’d love to.
That day, my dad and I talked about how much these songs meant to him when he was my age. He said music has a way of bringing people together. He told me about the first time he heard Boyz II Men and how it made him feel like he wasn’t alone. It was cool hearing his stories, and it made me see him in a new way.
Now whenever I hear “End of the Road,” I think about that rainy afternoon. It wasn’t just a song. It was the start of something new, a love for music that tells stories and a memory with my dad that I’ll always keep in my heart. I’ll never forget how that one song changed everything, turning a boring rainy afternoon into something I could never forget.
