One of my father’s tidbits of advice comes to mind now. I’m not sure why. It doesn’t particularly apply to being trapped under a bookcase, yet somehow…

“Come close, my little darling,” he called to me. “I’ve something to tell you.” His accent, just as pronounced then as the day he left the old country, is still fresh in my mind. His eyes were suddenly hazy.

“Now, I have a secret for you.” I remember the feeling of my heart fluttering with excitement—I loved Papa’s secrets. “When you get to be old, however far away it may seem, you must keep in mind that there will always, always be someone out there who is…”

Then, almost as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He was finished. His eyes were somehow clear as could be. He looked at me straight in the eyes as if he didn’t have a clue as to what he had just told me.

Seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had stopped mid-sentence, my father straightened up and left the room.