To see our father. I am unsure, but I believe it is just him (not his kids). I will definitely be a subject of discussion. Then I will meet him face-to-face.

I had a dark night. Seeing my parents again for the first time since I left brought about an uneasy aura. They made me feel guilty and responsible and I remembered how the beautiful bond I share with Her, lovely and pure, was disgraced. But I have since straightened my posture and I can see the truth along with the powerful simplicity of my position - one of respect for the young and growing as people in their own right who ought to be accepted for who THEY are, who ought to be listened to and not just seen and commanded like cattle, and whose thoughts, feelings, and opinions deserve to be taken into account when matters concern them.

And I can see how I conveyed this position to her and won her respect and, over time, her heart fair and square.

That is why I am right.

Not because She loves me, but because She agrees.

I will stand tall and proud and stick up for my girl and defend what we always were:

Two souls that came into contact, changed one another for the better, supported each other in every way that was possible, loved each other with the warmth and wholesomeness of lifelong friends, and - if there is any good left in this universe at all - ought not to be forced apart in the name of an unfair and baseless moral condemnation.

~ Balto