The wind nips at my nose,
My body shakes to the core,
My joints creek with every move.
The bullet in my arm radiates heat.
The body of my offender lies on the ground--
Still.
Cold.
Dead.
The snow is stained red
With the blood of his vile corpse.
Nothing sounds;
It's like the silence before the storm.
Then I hear a little whimper.
I see her curled up in a ball
Sitting in the hollow of a tree.
"Hey," I say gently.
"It's going to be okay now."
She flinches away from my touch.
I pinch my eyes shut painfully.
I don't blame her.
The only dad she's known,
The one who pretended to love her,
Pretended to be hers,
Is gone.
Lying on the ground
In his own puddle of blood
Because of me.
Poor little girl.
I still couldn't grasp that she was mine.
One day she'll thank me--
Hopefully.
I slowly lean against the tree
My shoulder throbs.
I fall down to the snow.
Little drops of red fall below.
I finally hear the sirens.
I wait.
It will all be over soon.
She crawls out of the hollow
She stares timidly.
I look deep into her big blue eyes.
She breaks down.
She collapses in my lap
Throws her little arms around me;
I wince at the pain.
"I'm so sorry, baby."
She weeps into my neck.
Suddenly,
I know.
I know that she is mine.
This little girl was mine
From the very beginning.