An Epiphany on a High School Bench with a 14 Year Old
She sat still for a bit, slightly anxious, on a bench near the gate. Every now and then she would look towards the watchman for a sign that her car had arrived to pick her up. I sat by her, observing her innocence, her determined chin and wisps of hair that waved in the soft gushes of wind, for it was an unusually pleasant afternoon. She looked at me apologetically, her face flushed slightly as she uttered how sorry she was that I had to wait because of her. 'How ridiculous', I thought, shaking my head slightly. Out aloud I said, 'I wouldn't want my daughter to be left alone under such circumstances, how can I leave you?' She smiled, and turned to look at the gate, failing to notice the tears well up in my eyes, for she even looked like my eldest. I toyed with my cell phone, after all, no young teen would engage in friendly banter with a high school teacher, it was just not done. As I was lost in a chain of thoughts that was stirred up by the thought of m...