A Story A Day. Story 325 of 365: Guardian (Part II).

The next thing Hugh saw was his daughter Daphne. He was inside his mother's mind, Daphne's grandmother, who spent lots of time taking care of her. He felt comforted by the fact that his daughter trusted his mother so much, she was a wise woman, and would give her good advice. He spent those years hidden, without intervening, watching his daughter grow. However, his mother was old, and she died when Daphne was barely twelve. As she died, he found himself in another location, unable to say goodbye to her. To his surprise he became one of Daphne's teachers, the one she always talked about, he was the same age Hugh would have been, and quite possibly a father figure for her. It didn't last much, and during Daphne's teenage years Hugh jumped from one friend to the other. 

As Daphne hit her twenties, Hugh found a more permanent home. As a teenageer she had met Aram who would end up becoming her best friend. Hugh liked Aram, he was a quiet boy who thinked a lot and spoke a little, he almost never found himself participating in their conversations, Aram was a sensible young man on his own. He half-expected them to become something else, although in the bottom of his heart, he knew they would always be only friends. 

When Daphne moved to another country, he started to say goodbye to Aram. However, to his surprise both of them kept regular contact through email and Skype. He was there for her at every important moment of her life, and was the one who walked her down the aisle at her wedding. Their friendship was so strong that Daphne kept trusting Aram more than her husband. Hugh felt pride for his daughter, it took certain character to mantain such a stong friendship along the years. Through Aram's eyes, he saw Daphne have babies, and those babies grow, he saw her grow older, and finally he saw her die. He felt Aram's heartbreak when his best friend died in front of his eyes, but he couldn't stay to comfort him, as Daphne took him with her. 

He was back into the colorless, soundless, odorless place, he knew the voice was coming, so he was prepared. It did catch Daphne by surprise. 

-Who are you? Am I dead?

-Yes. 

Daphne sighted but quickly accepted. 

-And now? 

-You choose. 

Hugh could see his daughter considering what did she want, before saying. 

-I've had a good life. I've been happy, I've been loved. And I would like to help the world be a happier place, a place full of love. I want all the love and happiness that I have experienced to be spread around the world. I want my conciousness to become sheer love and be split in a million pieces or more, so it can reach every corner in the world. I want my soul to forget about it being me and be happiness. 

Hugh smiled to himself. He had done right, he though as he vanished into a million tiny pieces.