- I know.
“But I’m glad Lily may have them.
I stayed by her, watching my father turn the pages of the book. I didn’t have an answer to fix Emily’s childhood. I didn’t even want to tell him that everything had happened for a reason. Some things are simply unfair, and their recognition is more important than any beautiful explanation.
Later, after dinner, my father called me in his office. On the table was the white envelope he had given me on the evening of the ambulance.
I kept it, he said.
I looked at him.
Why?
“So I don’t forget what I could lose. Not just life. It’s the chance to tell the truth while we could still.
He slowly sat in the chair.
“Sarah,” I spent too many years thinking that a good father is the one who brings money home, repairs the broken things, and protects his family from problems. But I confused protection with concealing the truth. And I hurt the very people I wanted to protect.
