You're safe now.

It is a gift in life to tell one, and mean it, “You’re safe now.”  Even if you have to tell her repeatedly, because the terror she just fled is the stuff of nightmares or bad tv.

 

You’re safe now.

Your home won’t be the same anymore, I can’t promise that.  Tonight you’ll stay with family.

But you’re safe now.

The man who just shattered your world is only a few car lengths away, but we are here.  And he is going away.

You’re safe now.

Tomorrow you’ll call for repairs, and sweep up broken glass, and question if you still have dignity after tonight.

But, you’re safe now.  And you handled yourself better than most.  And you made an entire squad come together and perform, and feel like a difference was made in somebody’s life, because sometimes the bogeyman is real.

But tonight, after all that, you are safe.  And it is a privilege to be the one that gets to tell you.