"Daddy, will you come here for a minute?"
"What is it lovebug?" my father said to me, approaching me at my workplace (which was just my homemade fort made out of pillows and blankets. I thought it was a great achievement, and I was proud of myself.)
"Will I ever be as brave as mommy was?" I asked him, holding onto his cheek and his long brown beard, messy but kempt.
"What do you mean my love?" He asked me, looking into my eyes with sadness.
"Will I ever be able to save people like mommy did? Will I ever be as brave as her?"
"Of course you will." He sadly smiled at me.
My mother, Carol, was a police officer, she saved people. She was completely and utterly selfless. Everything she did was for other people, she never once thought of herself, and I think that was her downfall.
My mother, although very busy most of the time, always came home every night to wish me goodnight and give me a hug. Every night she'd say to me "I love you Karina, don't let your fears consume you" although I didn't know what that meant at the young age I was, I understand what she meant now. I can't let any fear I have, stop me from doing what I love.
One night she never came home to say those words to me. She never told me that night to not let my fears consume me, and so, they did.
