At a crowded birthday reception, the lid of a large traveling trunk suddenly moved from inside.
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Chapter 16 / 17
Chapter 16
Elias called me Dad for the first time accidentally.
He was eight.
He fell from a bicycle.
Nothing serious.
Scraped knee.
I ran toward him.
He shouted:
“Dad, I’m fine!”
Then froze.
I froze too.
Celia covered her mouth.
Elias looked embarrassed.
I pretended not to notice.
Best decision of my life.
“Good.”
I checked the knee.
That was all.
Later that night, alone, I cried.
Not because I had earned the word completely.
Because he had stopped having to think before using it.
May you like
Trust becoming reflex.
That mattered more.
