Prologue Fifteen years earlier Better to be hard and heartless than to love and lose.
Arlo Jones
We sat at your hospital bed and watched the life ebb from you. Slow… painful… undignified. As we walked out of your hospital room leaving your cold, hollow body, I knew I would never be the same again. Shouldn’t be. Couldn’t be. Didn’t want to be. Cold. We watched as death clawed at you from beyond. Every day it beckoned you nearer. It dragged you kicking and screaming to the point of no return. It left its indelible mark on your mind, body, and soul. You became a shell of your former self. It broke your spirit and stole your pride. We lost our father and friend. Your warm body grew cold. We watched as life went and you went with it. We watched.