“I just had to do something.”
“Sam said he offered to be left behind. But you didn’t. You told him, ‘As long as we are friends, I’ll never leave you behind.’”
My heart swelled again.
Sally’s eyes glistened as she added, “And then you kept going.”
The room remained quiet.
That’s when I realized… this wasn’t about punishment.
It was about something else entirely.
Something I still didn’t fully understand.
“I’ll never leave you behind.’”
Sally’s words hung in the air.
Then Carlson picked up where she left off.
“We knew Mark, Sam’s father,” he said.
I looked at him, confused. “What?”
Carlson nodded. “We served with him. Years ago.”
“He used to carry Sam everywhere,” Sally continued. “Anywhere he couldn’t go on his own, Mark ensured he didn’t miss out. After… after he was gone, I tried my best. But there were things I just couldn’t recreate for Sam.”
“We served with him.”
Her voice tightened, but she kept going.
“When I picked my son up yesterday, he was different. The last time I saw him like that was six years ago, before his father died in combat. He couldn’t stop talking about the trees, the birds, the view from the top… things he’s never experienced before! He said it felt as if the world finally opened up for him!”
Sally smiled through the emotion. And so did Harris.
Leo grinned slightly.
