The man on the white steed.
He is the hero I never knew I needed.
And when a monster and a knight join forces, they are unstoppable.
They will come for me.
They will always come for me.
Daddy, please.
I let the silent prayer be carried by the darkness as I close my eyes and surrender myself to sleep, my soul battered but not broken.
“Hó bha ín, Hó bha ín.
Hó bha ín, mo ghrá.
Hó bha ín, mo leana,
Agus codail, go lá.
Hó bha ín, mo leana,
‘Is hó bha ín mo roghain.
Hó bha ín, mo leana,
Is gabh amach a bhadhbh badhbh.
Hó bha ín, Hó bha ín.
Hó bha ín, mo ghrá.
Hó bha ín, mo leana,
Agus codail, go lá.”
She is singing again.
The hauntingly beautiful melody she sings to me each night before bed echoes through the dark kitchen in the middle of the night. I had gone to bed hours ago, readying for another day of school, but she is still awake.
And crying.
This is not the first time I’ve come downstairs to find her weeping at the kitchen island, her golden locket clenched tight between her hands as she sobs.
Alone.
She never speaks of my father. I don’t even know his name, but I have peeked at the man inside the locket. His hair is red like mine, eyes the same shining green. It definitely seems like it would be him.
Where is he?
Had he left us by choice?
“Mama,” I whisper sadly as I walk into the kitchen, rubbing at my tired eyes.
“Avaleigh.” Turning away, she quickly wipes at her wet eyes and clears her throat before she turns back to face me. “What are you doing up,mo réalta?”
I step into her side and wrap my arms around her waist. “It’s okay to be sad, Mommy,” I tell her. “You don’t have to hide it from me.”