“I don’t deserve to be here. I know that. Your brother was braver at 18 than I’ve been my whole life. He came to find me before the surgery. He told me everything. And I still didn’t come.”
Victor lowered himself to one knee.
“Then why now?” Hannah whispered.
“Because he asked me for one thing. I see it as a dying wish. And I owed him at least that. And because I couldn’t hide anymore.”
Hannah looked up at me, shaking.
“Mom, what do I do?”
“Sweetheart, that isn’t for me to answer. But Luke wanted you to know you were never alone. That’s what ‘I promised I’d be here’ means.”
“I see it as a dying wish.”
My daughter was quiet for a long moment. Then she looked at Victor.
“I can’t promise you anything. But I’ll listen.”
Weeks later, Victor started showing up with small things. A coffee. A phone call. Nothing loud.
