Redemption
..
Elisa slammed her bedroom door behind her as she stomped in. She found a kind of savage satisfaction in the answering shudders of her bedroom wall. But as soon as the sounds faded, she knew she'd been wrong. Fathers are over-protective - it is part of their job description. She just wished that hers wasn't always so. It made her feel like she had a noose around her neck sometimes... But she knew where it stemmed from and it was a good place. One of true and endless love. Absently, she stroked the pendant on her neck which held a picture of her late mother and like she sometimes did, she imagined her mother standing before her. Warm brown eyes and short raven hair. She was smiling. She always smiled.
Already regretting her earlier outburst to her father, Elisa raced downstairs to make up with him only to find that he had already left the house. She vaguely remembered him mentioning an appointment. This was fine, it gave Elisa the time she needed to orchestrate her apology. First she changed her father's broadband password. Then she went across the street to buy oranges and fresh ginger so she could make him some homemade freshly squeezed orange juice with just a hint of ginger - just the way he liked it.
Elisa never made it to the store. The car came out of nowhere. There was only a blur of motion, the squeal of tires and then silence. The EMTs declared her dead on the spot.
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About a week after the loss of his only child, Patrick Kindle, sank into the chair of his home office and booted his computer. His wallpaper was that of he and his daughter. She'd been only six, sitting on his lap and laughing like she hadn't a care in the world. As he watched the picture he felt the tears begin to form at the back of his eyes like they'd been doing since he'd received that God-awful call. He would always remember and dread that day. That moment. And even now, after the funeral and service, there were questions that still plagued him. Where had she been going? Had she died mad at him? They'd both said some terrible things to each other... Regret filled him anew.
He shook his head and opened his browser. He got the "You are not connected to the internet" page. He checked his connection and was asked to reenter his password. But no matter how many times he did, he was told it was incorrect. Finally he called the help line. A female analyst verified his identity and explained the problem.
"Your password has been changed."
"To what? I never changed it."
"Just give me a moment sir."
Mr. Kindle heard the sound of fingers against a keyboard and then eventually..
"I love you daddy"
"Excuse me?"
"That's your password. I love you daddy - no gaps."
And finally Patrick Kindle broke down and cried for the loss of his daughter.
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