He knew that even if Suki could swim the cold water would be enough to cause harm. He knew from his years of study that the ice-cold water would cause cold water shock.

She would breathe in the cold water and struggle. His heart sank at the thought. Without thinking he ran towards the lake. He could hear Margo sobbing.

“It’s going to be okay, stay calm,” Suki said in a soothing tone. Her arm reached out with the stick, “Just take the stick, and. And I’ll help you move.”

Margo shook her head, “I’ve seen that movie. I know what is going to happen!”

“It’s a movie for a reason,” Suki rebutted taking another step closer. He never heard Suki use that tone before, even he was shocked and wanted to stop. Her words were sharp and harsh, with no sense of gentleness between them. She meant business. 

The cracking grew.

“Don’t move,” Papa shouted stepping on the ice. He nearly slipped and held his arms out. Margo looked up and over at Papa, and the smile grew on her face, she took a tiny step forward.

CRACK.

Margo looked up, her face now paler. More tears began to trickle down her face.

CRACK.

Time always seemed to slow when something bad happened. The looks melted into memories as if they were carved into stone. The feeling you can’t describe yet can still feel with the thought of it. The moment of dread when you know you are about to die.

The way his fingertips went numb and his eyes no longer blinked. Everything was going to be cemented into his memory. If he closed his eyes this would be all he could see.

The scared face of Margo. The way her hair was a mess and her face was red. The way Suki looked away from him, her back to him. 

CRACK.

In a quick motion, he watched it. Suki pushed Margo away, stepping right onto the weak cracking ice. Margo fell on her butt and slid away, far from the broken ice to a place where it was much thicker. 

SPLASH.

Like that Suki disappeared. Margo screamed. She cried. She screamed again.

“SUKI!” She yelled going to stand but only slipping. This time she stayed on the ground screaming, drawing the attention of the crowd. She screamed and screamed and screamed and wailed. 

Papa ran. He didn’t care about the cracking beneath his feet. He didn’t care about the danger he was putting himself in. He didn’t care if Margo was in danger and that he should get her to safety first. 

All he could see was nothing. His daughter disappearing into nothing. The way he couldn’t see her face. The way he couldn’t remember how she felt in his arms. The way he now couldn’t remember the way she sounded or the way she laughed. 

He plunged into the icy water, thick. His body froze cold, as if he now were an ice cub. The water was murky and dark. He couldn’t see anything. He waved his hands out in front of him desperately grabbing for anything. Anything at all.

Everything in him wanted to scream for Suki. Everything in him wanted to hold her again and protect her even more. He wanted to make her more sandwiches and walk her down the aisle.

He wanted to see the woman she would grow up to become.

He wanted to tell her one more thing. Just one more thing.

He wanted to carry her to bed and watch her sleep. Oh how pretty she slept. She was always a mess in bed, moving in her sleep. But still so pretty. She was his child. Not by blood, but still his child.

She meant more than the world to him.

~~~~~

Nora watched it all happen. As firefighters ran from behind her. 

Her entire world was gone, in just a crack and a fall. Trees fall all the time and no one notices. So do children, who are frankly louder than trees. She wanted to jump in too. She wanted to be dragged into the murky darkness too.

The firefighters ran to the crying and screaming Margo who just proved how loud children can be.

Her child will now be so quiet. She regretted now how she felt when Suki would cry loudly or throw tantrums in the store. She felt guilt for screaming at the child for the smallest of things and saying no to the candy bars she wanted. 

She fell to her knees. Realizing the only man she ever loved was in there too. She was too scared to jump in after them. Even though she wanted to. Every part of her being wanted to jump.

It was then she saw it, a hand barely reaching out from the hole in the lake. A Suki popped out. Her hair was wet, she was pushed up onto the ice. Papa’s head popped up from the hole, he coughed as he pushed Suki, he was still in the water. Nora watched him. And Suki.

She wanted to scream when saw it happen. As Suki climbed onto the ice gasping for breath, her foot kicked back. Hitting Papa and the ice around them. 

He fell back in, the ice broke where he was grasping. 

They retrieved his body that Spring.