They walked out the door and the air was heavy

She felt as though she would suffocate as all the air was sucked out of her lungs

Her chest got tighter and tighter with every strained breath

She stood there as he began to turn away from her

Instantly a thousand thoughts ran through her mind like a spinning kaleidoscope

Bright colors, scents, feelings, and thoughts

She went back in time

He was laying on his stomach sleeping and his feet stuck out of the covers just enough for her to see the rough edges from walking around barefoot on the rocks

She picked up her brothers’ hot wheels and began to giggle as she ran them up and down the bottoms of his feet

He would squirm, she would stop, cover her mouth and giggle uncontrollably

Once he settled, she would do it again, and again until he woke up

By the time it tickled enough to wake him up, she had already darted from the room

Then she thought about when she would run to the bathroom, pull out her basket, and sprint back to his room holding as many bows, clips, headbands, and hair ties that she could, dropping them down the hall as she scurried his way

She would find a way to put every bow and every headband on his head that she could carry making him “look like a pretty princess”

She saw herself running through the door that had been left open with her backpack secured tightly on both shoulders

Knowing he would be there, she would be explaining her day before she even saw him, giving every detail of the past eight hours

She threw her bag into the corner of her room and without hesitation, she washed her hands and began to help him make up dinner

She would turn up the stereo, speakers sitting out on the porch, and begin collecting sticks to start the grill

The memories continued to flow as she recalled nights when she would walk upstairs and he would be singing to the stereo

He would grab her hand and spin her around the room dancing from every corner of the room

He would sing to her like he had written the song for her

As he sang to her, holding her close and spinning her in circles, he would look deep into her eyes with a big smile across his face

Nothing made her happier than the way he looked at her

She flashed forward several years to him taking her home after getting her hair done for the dance

He would drive slowly, roll down the windows, and wave like he was in a beauty pageant

She would hide her face in embarrassment hoping nobody would see her with him

She did the same way every time they went to the store and walked by the bra section

He would grab them, put them on his head, and yell about it being an eye patch or how big this double-barreled sling shot was

Somehow she was brought back to the present and she watched finish his turn and walk away from her

This would be the last time she saw him as he would leave and have to fight until his last dying breath

She wept as he walked away from her unaware he would never return

It was just the feeling deep in her gut that gave her the uneasy feeling 

She reached out at the last minute to grab his hand and tell him goodbye, but her daddy was already gone