. Not that it mattered in

all white puff in the air. He looked at me

s and a little red sweater I had knitted for him. It was worn, with a small hole near the elbow,

g at his faint reflection in the dark screen of th

sh boy. Your father won't notice your

reaching out. "Don't go, Leo. Please, don

passed through his small shou

. Truly, irreversibly dead. The last thread of hope that this was all a nightmare snappe

y cold cheek. "I'm going to get the pen. We'll have Christmas together when I g

at our family was shattered, that his father had chosen an

th the velcro straps that were losing their

the knob, and looked ba

Mommy. I'll

ed for him. The city was big and cold. The Miller

ould do

d only

him, a powerless guardian angel. The world outside the apartment wa

mall but determined. He pushed open the heavy main door

mppost. Cheerful music spilled from storefronts. People hurried past

ll boy in the thin red

house many times before, back when it was his

his small hands stuffed in his pockets. He was cold, b

magic wand that could fix everything. It could wake me up. It could b

e a shield, and it kept him moving for

n his wake, my silent tears lost in