She could feel him holding her and him running his (fingers) through her hair, but it was felt just like background to what was happening in her mind. The memory was like a movie playing in her mind.
She was 8 years old, just turned 8 that day actually. She was young and careless. She didn't understand how important some little things she did could be. She had a small family get-together that afternoon for her birthday. She said thank you to everyone for her presents. She had her cake and ice cream. She swam in the pool for a while. She said her goodbyes and I love you's to every single relative when they left. She didn't say "I love you" once to her parents or her older brother that day though. She played in her room with her new presents for a few hours before going to a friend's house for a sleepover. She was picked up at 6:00 that night. She remembered that perfectly. Her parents and her brother said "I love you" to her as she ran towards the door and out it. All she said, "Yeah, ok." That's all she had said. She had been so thoughtless. And then she forgot to lock the door as she left. They had expected her to do that. Just two simple things and she didn't do either of them. So stupid. 9:23 am, she was woken up and given the news. Bad people had broken into the house. She should've locked that door... Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother were with God now. She should've said "I love you"... Now they weren't coming back...ever.