It Shouldn’t Have Been This Way

Hey Kiddo, um, it’s your dad. You probably knew that already, considering the circumstances. You know me, always stating the obvious. Anyway. Uh, so this is it. We’ve had a long and hard road together over the years, a lot of ups and downs, thousands of miles travelled, and bridges burned, I guess. I’m partially at fault for some of those, you know. What am I saying, of course you know. You thought they were all my fault. I guess I can’t blame you. I, uh, I put too much on you a lot of times, and not enough a few others. I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. Just know, that I know I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but loving you was never one of them. I had these daydreams, frequently had them, as a matter of fact. Of you and I just roaming the world, just the two of us. Maybe a cat, too. Either way. Just, roaming. Countless miles, father and daughter, getting into adventures. Seeing and doing crazy things all around the globe. I guess it can still happen. In a way. It shouldn’t have been this way, but here we are. Think about it, okay? Keep this with you, and I’ll always be by your side. I love you.

The recorder beeps when she presses the stop button, the nuclear winds blowing through her close-cropped hair. He’s gone, but she’s survived. And she will keep surviving. To spite him, despite him, or because she truly does love him. She blows the sand off the microphone and presses record.

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