I wasn’t in the car with you. I wasn’t the reason it happened. But I was the first familiar face at the scene.
My heart stuttered.
I got the call from Elise’s phone. I drove like a madman. When I arrived, everything was chaos—sirens, lights, strangers shouting directions.
They told me your mother and the man you knew as your dad were gone.
And you… you were alive.
You were so small, Mara. So quiet. Like you were saving your strength for later.
My eyes burned as tears fell onto the paper.
I held your hand and promised you something I didn’t know how to keep: that you wouldn’t be alone.
But here’s the truth I’ve never admitted out loud—after they told me you might not walk again, I panicked.
I didn’t think I was strong enough to raise you. I didn’t think I deserved to.
