Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
She rolled her eyes for thirteen years. Then he could not speak anymore — and his hand still knew the code.
Maya was twelve years old when she decided that her father was the most embarrassing man in the United States of America. He was a middle-school librarian who pronounced library lie-berry on purpose. He wore Crocs to public spaces. He owned a polo shirt that said WORLD'S DAD ironically and unironically at the same time.
And every single morning, while making her grilled cheese for breakfast and her chocolate milk, he told the worst jokes in the world.
Fourteen years later, on a Tuesday in October, Maya sat beside her father in a hospice room. The cancer had taken his words two weeks before. He could see her. He could hear her. He could blink at her. He could not speak.
So she told him the worst joke he had ever told her.
This is a story about thirteen years of eye rolls, an elevator stranger in a navy work jacket, and the small two-squeeze code that a father had been telling his daughter every single day for twenty-three years before she finally heard it.
This is The Worst Dad Jokes — a Nyza Stories original short film. The bad jokes were the inheritance. The embarrassments were the love. The squeezing was the language. Two squeezes. I love you.
— — —
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
— — —
📖 THE STORY
Maya was twelve years old when she decided that her father was the most embarrassing man in the United States of America. He was a middle-school librarian who pronounced library lie-berry on purpose. He wore Crocs to public spaces. He owned a polo shirt that said WORLD'S #1 DAD ironically and unironically at the same time. And every single morning, while making her grilled-cheese-for-breakfast and her chocolate milk, he told the worst jokes in the world. I tried to start a hot-air balloon company. It never took off. Did you hear about the man who lost his left hand. He's all right now. And his very worst — the one he told her every single morning for the entire fall of sixth grade — I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down. Maya rolled her eyes so hard her father said, one of these days you're going to lose them in the back of your head. Maya screamed DAAAD the way only a twelve-year-old daughter can scream DAAAD. He laughed. And every morning, when she walked to the front door to catch the bus, he held her small hand for one beat too long, and he squeezed it twice. That was his code. Two squeezes. He had been doing it since she was four. He had never told her what it meant. She had stopped asking when she was nine.
(continued) → Read the full story: nyzastudios.com/stories/the-worst-dad-jokes
🎬 NYZA STORIES
A show on the NyzaStudios YouTube channel — one 5-8 minute heart-touching narrated short story, every week.
► This story: nyzastudios.com/stories/the-worst-dad-jokes
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✦ CREDITS ✦
Story · Narration · Written & Directed by Hardik Trehan
Original Score & Song by Nyza Studios
A Nyza Studios Original
© 2026 Nyza Creations LLC. All rights reserved.
nyzastudios.com · @nyzastudiosofficial
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#NyzaStories #ShortStories #LifeLessons #Inspiration #EmotionalStories #hearttouchingstory #fatherdaughterstory #dadjokesstory #callbacktragedy #hospicelovestory #chickensoupforthesoul #emotionalshortstory #cinematicshortfilm #singlefatherstory #narratedshortstory
She rolled her eyes for thirteen years. Then he could not speak anymore — and his hand still knew the code.
Maya was twelve years old when she decided that her father was the most embarrassing man in the United States of America. He was a middle-school librarian who pronounced library lie-berry on purpose. He wore Crocs to public spaces. He owned a polo shirt that said WORLD'S DAD ironically and unironically at the same time.
And every single morning, while making her grilled cheese for breakfast and her chocolate milk, he told the worst jokes in the world.
Fourteen years later, on a Tuesday in October, Maya sat beside her father in a hospice room. The cancer had taken his words two weeks before. He could see her. He could hear her. He could blink at her. He could not speak.
So she told him the worst joke he had ever told her.
This is a story about thirteen years of eye rolls, an elevator stranger in a navy work jacket, and the small two-squeeze code that a father had been telling his daughter every single day for twenty-three years before she finally heard it.
This is The Worst Dad Jokes — a Nyza Stories original short film. The bad jokes were the inheritance. The embarrassments were the love. The squeezing was the language. Two squeezes. I love you.
— — —
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
— — —
📖 THE STORY
Maya was twelve years old when she decided that her father was the most embarrassing man in the United States of America. He was a middle-school librarian who pronounced library lie-berry on purpose. He wore Crocs to public spaces. He owned a polo shirt that said WORLD'S #1 DAD ironically and unironically at the same time. And every single morning, while making her grilled-cheese-for-breakfast and her chocolate milk, he told the worst jokes in the world. I tried to start a hot-air balloon company. It never took off. Did you hear about the man who lost his left hand. He's all right now. And his very worst — the one he told her every single morning for the entire fall of sixth grade — I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down. Maya rolled her eyes so hard her father said, one of these days you're going to lose them in the back of your head. Maya screamed DAAAD the way only a twelve-year-old daughter can scream DAAAD. He laughed. And every morning, when she walked to the front door to catch the bus, he held her small hand for one beat too long, and he squeezed it twice. That was his code. Two squeezes. He had been doing it since she was four. He had never told her what it meant. She had stopped asking when she was nine.
(continued) → Read the full story: nyzastudios.com/stories/the-worst-dad-jokes
🎬 NYZA STORIES
A show on the NyzaStudios YouTube channel — one 5-8 minute heart-touching narrated short story, every week.
► This story: nyzastudios.com/stories/the-worst-dad-jokes
► All stories: nyzastudios.com/stories
► Subscribe: youtube.com/@nyzastudiosofficial?sub_confirmation=1
► Full Playlist: youtube.com/@nyzastudiosofficial/playlists
🔗 CONNECT WITH NYZASTUDIOS
• Website: nyzastudios.com
• YouTube: youtube.com/@nyzastudiosofficial
• Instagram: instagram.com/nyzastudios
• Facebook: facebook.com/nyzastudios
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✦ CREDITS ✦
Story · Narration · Written & Directed by Hardik Trehan
Original Score & Song by Nyza Studios
A Nyza Studios Original
© 2026 Nyza Creations LLC. All rights reserved.
nyzastudios.com · @nyzastudiosofficial
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#NyzaStories #ShortStories #LifeLessons #Inspiration #EmotionalStories #hearttouchingstory #fatherdaughterstory #dadjokesstory #callbacktragedy #hospicelovestory #chickensoupforthesoul #emotionalshortstory #cinematicshortfilm #singlefatherstory #narratedshortstory
