
“One of the worst parts of dying was that split second when it hit me, ‘Mom and Dad aren’t gonna save me from this.’ I closed my eyes, hoping that it was a bad dream, that Mom would wake me up. But instead, I woke up into this. You don’t realize until it’s too late what your parents did to protect you from the truth. Our parents read us fairy tales, thinking they’ll never have to explain that they aren’t real, thinking they’ll be dead and gone before reality hits. But blood is forever. 20, 30, 300 years down the line, we still need a hand to reach for in the dark.”