"And you will be. You have your whole future in front of you. Once you get better I'll teach you even more. Whatever you want to do..."
"But you have work... father your work." the girl replied as she wasn't convinced in her father's words.
"I'll quit my job." the man replied blatantly.
"You must... be joking right? You just... nevermind." the girl replied as she began to pout.
"How could I joke about that. I need a vacation... and you... of course I'll spend it with you - my precious daughter."
"Even if... even if your daughter is... crippled, bedridden, and sapping everything from your life? A no good waste of space?"
"How could you even think that?" the man burst out loudly before he calmed himself down and sighed. "No one chooses to be born, just like no one chooses to be sick. Don't ever blame yourself. And don't ever think that you are at fault for anything. The day you were born and I carried you in my arms the first time, that time when I saw you smile in your sleep. Held your tiny body in my arms... I knew that I needed to protect you and I vowed that I would. You are my precious daughter... And I'll do everything to protect you. And of course. I love you no matter what condition you are in, child. Don't even think otherwise."
I felt a pang of pang inside me as the man said this. It was the same feeling I had for my siblings... the same siblings that didn't care as much as I did for them... but something else was mixed in with the feelings that I had felt... 'What... just why am I feeling this sad?' I asked myself as I glanced at his daughter.
"I love you too dad... I just wish... Wish you were here more often..." the girl muttered as she tried to hide her complaints, but her father still heard her and began to slump in his seat.
Her words had clearly affected him and she noticed as well.
"But you have work... and I can't expect you to be here all the time... Besides you're working as hard as you can to keep me alive... right?" his daughter continued while smiling before her smile slowly disappeared.
"Hey, dad?"
"What is it?"
"Do you think... do you think I'll get through... you know... the surgery tomorrow?"
"Of course. Don't even think that you won't. You're strong and you are determined. If you fight I'm sure you'll make it through."
"Will you be here... with me...?"
"Of course."
"No work?"
"No work. My boss okayed it. I'll be with you the whole time... from the time they start until you come out. I'll be there." the man said, but his daughter didn't reply immediately. Instead, she stared at the window as the faint lights of an occasional metal creature streaked across it.
"Hey dad?" she said minutes later.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for always... trying to be here... you know here for me."
"Thanking... should only be given when someone does something nice for you that you weren't expecting... There is no need to thank me. I'm here because I want to. And I always will." The man said - the sincerity in his tone was clear.
Smiling, the girl's glowing body relaxed as she laid back against her pillows and white sheets. Her yellow glow dimming just a bit as she did.
Slowly she shut her eyes and grinned softly as the machines that were around her continued to beep periodically. As the fluids were attached to her veins continued to drip and sustain her body.
A glowing yellow soul within a blanket of white.
It was sort of... you know peaceful? I felt it. The love of a father for his child. The feeling of safety that emanated from his presence. The same feeling that... that I had felt somewhere before...
But the silence didn't last long as the girl broke it once more. "Hey... father... can you please tell me a story... you know the one about the blue snail... I want to hear it... just one more time."
And so the man told a tale about a snail.
A blue snail.
...