The Worry

Short Story Day 129 of 365

She was all of four when she first went walking with her grandfather along the wooded bike path. She explored as he watched her curiosity.

A year older now, Leah seemed a bit more reserved about her surroundings. Now as they walked, he noticed her darting her eyes from the woods on one side to the stream on the other, turning around and then looking up.

“Leah, are you afraid of something?”

She nodded. “How’d you know, Grandpa?”

“Grandpas know these things. What are you afraid of, Sweetie?”

“Well, there’s a lot of wild animals out there. And then there’s the bad guys. I just know the bad guys are in the woods hiding, ready to come out and do bad things.”

Grandpa squatted to Leah’s level and held her tiny hands.

“Honey, listen to me closely. As long as Grandpa’s here, you don’t have anything to worry about. Ever.”

“Oh. Okay.”