I loved walking the high wall with daddy. We would just walk around and around the top of the building. Daddy would talk to me about all sorts of things. Mostly of things from before The Fall. Things like movies and television and electricity…. All of the things that are make believe now.

He always walks with a big rifle on his back and a walkie talkie on his hip. He calls these walks ‘patrolling’ and says it is super important. How can a walk be important though? That is just silly.

Daddy can be like that though, super serious about the silliest things. Not all dads are like that though. A lot of them are super serious all the time - serious and mad. Daddy is never like that.

We were playing hopscotch on our walk when Daddy stopped and looked over the wall. He started talking real fast into the walkie talkie about ‘stumblers’ on the horizon.

The whole building went crazy. Everyone was up on the wall. There are people everywhere. People screaming and yelling. Little little kids are crying and nobody is paying them no mind. Something serious is going on.

Daddy and all the people with big riffles line up along the wall and look down the guns. The guns are so loud. Even plugging my ears with it fingers, I can hear them shoot.

There must be a zillion rabbits on the other side of the wall because they just kept shooting and shooting and shooting. Nobody was going down to get the rabbits though… someone always went to pick up the rabbits. They must be missing it lots.

Finally the shooting stopped. It was so nice to be able to take my fingers out of it ears. Daddy said we were out of ammo and so we have to hide from the shamblers. That sounds like a fun game. I am really good at hide and seek - I bet this is just like hide and seek.

Lots of people were crying. Maybe they don’t get to play the game. I bet they could play if they just asked Daddy. Daddy is really nice and he would totally let them play with us.

We go to our room and Daddy moves a bunch of stuff out of the closet. There is a secret door in the back of the closet! That is the coolest thing ever! Daddy says I get to hide in there but that is silly, he already knows where I will be. Daddy is doing his silly serious voice, so I go into the secret door and Daddy closes it from the other side.

It is really small and dark in here. I sit down and wait for Daddy to come find me but he is taking forever. Like…. he knows I am right here.

I can hear yells and screams through the door but they sound funny - like they are far away but not - yeah know?

Anyways, I am bored and sleepy. Maybe I will take a little nap while I wait for Daddy, he is going to find me really soon I bet.

12 years ago it happened. It was my birthday and the sirens had started right after I blew out my candles. My family and friends were all there in the living room with me. I had gotten both a puppy and a kitty for presents, and mom had baked me a fudge vanilla cake. We went from celebrating to hiding under the tables and furniture as the world outside shook with fire and smoke.

Dad dragged us out into the root cellar in the garden, as many of us kids that could fit. Some of the elder boys and girls too. For a long time we sat in the dark while the world above us tore itself asunder. I did my best to keep the dust and rocks outside of puppies eyes while my sissy held mittens. In the dark with his wet little nose against mine, I named him Brave.

After a time, it all stopped. The noise, the quaking. The falling dust. Some of the elder boys went out of the cellar and reported that most of the street had collapsed around us. I fed Brave carrots form the cellar while we waited. Eventually after what felt like forever the adults came back. They had hid somewhere else. Some of the children were taken aside by their mothers and fathers. My mother appeared for sister and I. Dad, dad got hurt helping someone else.

I’m 18 now, and most of the neighborhood has been rebuilt. I’d learned later that bombs were the cause of what happened. Bombs and war. I sat on the front step of the house watching some of my friends play ball in the street. My parents could be heard, bustling around and every-once and a while Mittens would come check on us from a window. To make sure we were still there. And my goodest boy Brave, munched on carrots by my side.

I was playing with my best friend Sadie and my dog Bounce when angels descended down from the sky.

We were looking at them when our parents screamed and grabbed us and put us in the car with my daddy grabbing his rifle.

Daddy kissed me on the forehead and told me loved me and to be strong for mommy and Bounce.

When I saw what he was doing I screamed for him to come back but mommy locked me in my car seat and drove away as quickly as possible.

I never saw my daddy again and now there’s angels everywhere.

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