Run Sweetie

         The little girl, no more than three years old, ran down the sidewalk followed by a man scurrying closely behind. The sidewalk, interrupted by driveways and a gas station entrance, lay next to an intersection of six busy streets. Each street had at least one car with at least one occupant who was disgusted that this man would let this little girl run so freely at such a perilous location. The morning commuters in their cars commented that this little girl was lucky to be alive having such a man to look after her. “I mean can you believe that?” they said, “Look at that, what an idiot that guy.”
         Her head was down as she looked at the pavement, her little arms swinging in time with her feet, her brown curls floated inside the open hood of her warm pink coat. Cars swarming all around, she made it past the gas station entrance safely, much to the relief of the constantly replenished batch of onlookers in their cars. Tall and dressed in dark clothes, the man trotted three steps behind the girl, making it past the entrance safely as well. She ran straight on down the sidewalk towards the gas station exit, cars moving all around the pair as they made their way.
         The gas station attendant looked up from his gas tank filling business to see the pair running by. He caught the tall man’s eye as he ran past. The tall man shouted as he trotted by, “Her mother just died, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. I thought letting her run might help.”
         And the little girl ran. And ran.