The elder looks down the road, waiting, pondering. He knows that he should leave his house again someday, but for months, he has feared leaving the safety of his home. After that terrible incident months ago with his encounter with a robber, he was terrified to step foot back into society. He pays the paperboy an extra fee to gather supplies from the market. Nonetheless, he still takes a moment every day to gaze down the dirt path and watches the boy bike down until he disappears. His daughter visits every Sunday, and he again watches as she leaves down the path. One day, she begged him, “Papa, you must go back into town one day. The police caught the man, and the streets have been safer since. It’s a small town, papa, and I know it’s scary, but I miss you watching the sunset by the lake with me on Sunday evenings.”
. He smiles and places his hand on her shoulder. He pauses before he leans in to kiss her on her forehead. He replies, “One day, my sweet Angel, I will muster the courage to walk down this path again into town and towards the Lake.” he pauses and places his hand over his heart. “Right now, my nerves can’t take it.” She hugs her father once more and continues down the pathway into town, looking back a few times before she is entirely out of sight. The elder stands there almost motionless; he takes a deep breath and looks back inside his home from his window. “God, please be with me.” He slowly reaches for the door handle and pushes the front door open. The door slowly creaked open, and a wind blew the sand beneath his feet. The sound of the door tapping the house as it reached it further startled him. He took another deep breath and took his first step out of the house. The birds have never chirped louder. The air even smelled different. The sun, close to setting, sat warm on his face, and he smiled. He began his walk towards the town, down the path, and to the lake to watch the sunset with his daughter.
