On the way to grandma’s house, she could feel the proverbial twist of the knife, her heart breaking into a million pieces as she silently begged for it to all to be a dream. Hours before she had said goodbye to her father. Now she was half-way to her grandma’s house. Her father’s parting words had been, “Stiffen your upper lip little soldier. I will always be with you.” But her tears came anyway, as she had begged them to let her stay there with her real family.

Now, weeks later, Grandma made it clear that she knew what was best for her and her dad was not it. Anger fueled her as she stormed down the hallway that day. She didn’t notice the stack of boxes in front of a newly rented apartment next door until she tripped over them, felt the ground give way, and was sent tumbling to the floor. Strong arms stopped her fall and she heard a familiar voice say, “Hey little soldier, looks like I made it just in time.”

She never saw the wink he sent in her grandmother’s direction. All she could think about was her dad and her fairytale ending.

© Violet Weeks. Original for CCF (Weeks grants CCF first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).