He watched his son playing in the park across the street. The boy smiled constantly as he ran from the swings, to his friends on the seesaw, up and down the slide, back to the swings. And on and on and on. He never seemed to run out of energy.

Not like his old man. He was tired. So very tired. Not from lack of rest, though. He was always worried. Worried about leaving his son some kind of legacy, something his son would remember him for. Something he could look back on and tell people, “This was my dad, and this is what he did.”

He’d trapped himself, though. The more he tried to do something great, the more depressed he got when he failed. He needed to be sure his son would remember him when he was gone. Needed to be absolutely certain his son would never, ever forget him.

Well, he thought to himself, today’s the day. He’ll remember me forever after today.

The thought brought a smile to his face. Still smiling, he turned, walked into the mall, and opened fire.