The breeze drawing from the island was quite pleasant, and it made the otherwise rather warm day somewhat bearable. I decided to walk over to the mainland to grab some assorted groceries before coming back. The sun was nearing the horizon anyway, so I figured I could take the exercise.

My daughter tagged along. The path we usually take isn't perilous, so I figured it wouldn't hurt.
She's 11 years old, almost 12. She still wore her favorite black bunny ear headband even though she has outgrown it, slowly bending it to size. With long blonde hair and dark eyes, she's grown to be quite beautiful in the few years I've known her. She is adopted, after all, escaping an all but troubled family.

Walking hand-in-hand, my daughter asks me, "Papa, how much longer until we get there?"
"Don't worry, we'll be there in 25 minutes or so."
Bored, she walks to the railing and peers over the edge of the bridge we are walking on. This arched bridge was built like so to allow rather large ships to pass under, which is very necessary for a major shipping channel.

"Look, papa! Big ship!"
I walk to her side and look down at her. Indeed, a cargo ship is passing under us.
"Wow, good find!" I respond. "Do you see anything else?"
After glancing around a little, she starts pointing at all kinds of objects and giving them a name.

"Ou!" she says, "You're so slow, papa!"
She starts running as fast as she could be right as I hear swerving car tires behind me. As my daughter separates from me, I turn around to see what happened.

After seeing a car wreck, I turn back around. "You have to let go, y'know?"
She was fictional, but the cars barreling towards me were very real.