Father?" Sophia managed to squeak out. Brian Daniels looked up at his daughter."Hello, Sophia. You certainly have grown into a beautiful young woman."...You... are my... father?" Yes, I am." Brian replied.Warren had had his hand on Sophia's shoulder, as reassurance. Suddenly, he felt that shoulder go to steel. He almost withdrew his hand, but Sophia grabbed it and put it back."How can you be my father? I don't have a father!" Ellen, what did you tell her?" Brian asked."She knows she has a father.. "Shit! I passed out! Damn it! I missed what abuse they had planned for me! Where the hell am I now?It took a lot of effort for me to just be able to wake up enough to focus on the sounds around me. Even then, I was not able to do more than sort of open my eyes. Not only was my body strapped down, like when I woke up in the hospital, my head was immobilized too. When I tried to talk, I found my jaw was locked into something that only let me open my mouth enough to breathe. All I knew was that. So why are they always so damn happy? Never without a grin, always giving an enthusiastic wave and a “how do ya do” no matter what time of the day and no matter what day of the week. Life consistently gives them the shaft and yet they carry on like every day is the best damn day of their life. What’s their secret? Is it a loving partner that cares for them? Nope. Is it a newfound religion? Not likely. Is it drugs? No… well, maybe. But it’s also something else, something much more magical. No,. I never imagined someone just scooping me off that awful street and taking me in. It hadn’t occurred to me that someone like you even existed.“Never, ever apologize ... Mark... “You saved me ... Thank you ... for saving me ... Thank you ... for cleaning me up even though I was disgusting. You didn’t reject me even when you saw how dirty I was ... Mark, you didn’t get disgusted and throw me back out in the weather.“How could I ever be angry at you?“I can’t ... It would be impossible.“Thank.