By
Pat L.
She stood in front of the pictures that hung on the wall;
two pictures out of many. Pictures of those who had made the greatest
sacrifice; those who had given their lives to protect the innocent. Some were
in uniform, some were not. Some were male, others female. Despite the
differences, they all had one thing in common: the wall. Still, her eyes were
riveted to the two men before her.
One was dark-haired, the other light. Two pairs of blue eyes seemed to twinkle from the picture. Whether by accident, or intent, the two men seemed to smile at each other.
It was once said the two shared a heart; a soul; a life. Little did anyone know how true that would be. It didn’t matter that one went first. Without the one, there could not be the other. When the first one died, the other began the short spiral down. It was sad, tragic, inevitable.
There were those that day that swore he was not thinking of
the child he was saving, but of the partner he had lost. As he lay on the hard
concrete, his blue eyes twinkled once more. He raised his hand up, and
whispered the other’s name. The lines of pain and despair disappeared from his
face. His eyes closed, and he relaxed. The day grew brighter and those around
him drew back, sensing the presence beside him.
The young girl gazed at the pictures and thought fondly of the past. Her childhood was filled with memories of the two men. The love they felt for her was like a soft blanket that kept her warm at night. The love they felt for each other filled her world with joy.
Without taking her eyes from the pictures, she said softly, “Do you miss them, daddy?”
The man standing beside her answered, “Yes, I do, every
day.”
She smiled wistfully. “So do I.”
Police Cadet Rosie Dobey took her father’s hand, and walked back down the long hall. Behind her, on the wall, two pairs of blue eyes still twinkled, and two faces still smiled at each other.