"i'm back"

i sat in the dark room as the first rays of sunlight came in. my hands were cold, but i didn't move. i didn't want to make any noise, for fear of missing the first sound of it. i had waited up all night. i couldn't sleep. the rest of my family had been sleeping ever since they'd been sent off to bed. but not me. my cold coffee sat before me on the hardwood table. maria's flowers sat on the windsill. my knee wouldn't keep still, going up and down nervously. when, when, when?

that's when i heard it: the low rumble of the old ford truck. i jumped out of my chair and rushed out the door. my bare feet pounded along the dusty road through the dead yellow grass. my long brown hair flew out behind me. my breathing sounded loud in my ears. i didn't stop, running with all my might towards that sound that i had been waiting for... for what seemed like so long.

i stopped in the middle of the road. there it was. the old ford sputtered to a halt. dad's tall figure strode towards me, shadowed by the sun. i caught my breath. i hadn't see him in what felt like forever. i ran towards him.

"daddy." the words that i'd been yearning to say for so long came off my lips without me even thinking about it.

"i'm back." he hugged me tightly. "my little sarah. i'm back. i'm not leaving."

"i love you, daddy."

"i love you, too, sarah."