Captured Write ups

It’s one in the afternoon,  as bright as a day can get, people all around me, I get into an auto to go home  in a city I’ve lived all my life, I still open maps just in case, then we take a wrong turn, the man says there’s an obstruction,  this road will take us the same time,  says something that I  cannot really trust,  I call dad just in case,  the man jumps to defend himself,  says men of certain communities are unsafe,  you need to be cautious around them,  it’s not all men,  dad calls again just in case,  and maybe the realisation hits him whilst he eats his afternoon lunch,  that he has daughters-  not children but daughters in particular,  and that he needs to always stay watchful,   just in case. 

For all the times;   every dumb dance over late night calls,  every bite of blueberry cheesecake to eat “just because," the time you stood out the door after travelling an hour just to make sure I ate,  every message telling me how proud you were of me,   talking about the same lore a million times but always making it sound exciting,  all the times you reminded me how to breathe while I was struggling to find some,  sending me little lucky charms and sachets of tea,  making me giggle like a silly little girl and showing me by example that life isn’t always so hard,   answering every single one of my hypothetical questions,   making me food whenever you can and sending me some whenever you can’t,  buying me things just because they reminded you of me,  making me count my blessings and being my girl always, thank you.