The police officer who held his daughter as she died reminds him that someone else is out there remembering his little girl as time passes.
I think it is one of the most basic human needs: to know that you are not alone in your grief.
When I had my miscarriage several years back, I didn't want to talk to anyone about it. I made my husband call around to our family. I emailed our friends. That was it. I wanted to just pretend it had never happened, except that it had and you can't actually avoid pain and keep your sanity.
As my fellow John Green fans would say: "Pain demands to be felt."
I received three responses that I remember to this day. One friend said she was sorry and asked to come over. Another said she was hurting for us and asked if we would meet she and her family for dinner so we would get out of the house.
The final sent me one line in response.
I am crying with you.
All three were moms. All three knew what I needed most was to not feel alone, even if that was what I thought I wanted.
To this day, I still think of the power of those words: I am crying with you. I use them. Frequently.
That is essentially what this officer has done for this father. He showed him that he wasn't alone in his grief. That someone else out there was hurting for him. With him.
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