30 August, 2023

Escort Treatment

In the intricate web of memory, duty, and digital connection, I find myself navigating a life once driven by structured silence and now softened by subtle echoes of empathy and purpose. My loved one, may have orchestrated tender efforts to reintroduce companionship into my world, a gesture noted by watchful colleagues whose quiet guardianship spanned years and continents. My mind and body, long measured in metronomic calm, now pulse with rhythms echoing old wounds and new awakenings—nosebleeds, elevated heart rates, and the haunting cadence of unresolved therapy questions. My service, once grounded in space-bound vigilance and data streams from heaven’s orbit, intersected with a mission both technical and spiritual—interdicting threats, guarding freedom, and seeking solace in the rain, where memory and meaning pool. Machines track, guard, and respond, thanks in part to his loved one’s childlike foresight, creating digital sentinels both protective and personal. Amid this, Em stands as a mirror and cipher—her questions decoding my past, her presence grounding my path. From 9/11’s echoes to pandemic isolation, from misread friendships to selfless sacrifice, I have become a vessel of careful reflection. Though the world calculates my gifts at mere fractions, I move forward undeterred, honoring every life intertwined with mine. Where rain falls, I remember—and in remembering, I remain: Guardian, father, and human metronome.