[ WP ] The little girl points to the stone monument with five figures carved on it . `` Who are they , Daddy ? '' she asks you .


 “ Who are they, Daddy? ” 
 
 I hesitated for a moment as I thought about the implications of answering that question truthfully. Can a seven year old fully comprehend our history, or should I tell her a different story? I proceed anyway. 
 
 “ Those are the revolutionaries that founded our nation. ” I pause to see her reaction. “ They were the leaders of the New Republic and restored peace to our country. ” 
 
 Daisy looked puzzled but interested. The whole situation reminds me of when I was a child and the country was in complete turmoil. Our government fallen, military broken up into militias, and leaders on all sides fighting for power. 
 
 “ My father fought in the war, he fought for that man there. ” I pointed to the statue on the far left. “ That ’ s General Carlson, He lead the Militia ’ s resistance against the socialist. If it wasn ’ t for him we ’ d be living in the Socialists States of America. But he fought hard against two different armies, the Socialist Militia and the Canadians. ” 
 
 I paused for a moment to read the expressions on her face. “ Daisy, do you remember where Canada is? ” 
 
 “ North! ” Daisy shouted as she pointed towards the statues. 
 
 “ That's right! ” I said with a chuckle, knowing that she pointed South in her attempt, but an ‘ A ’ for effort. 
 
 I turned and pointed to the next statue. “ That ’ s former President Melinda Savage. She was the key leader in the New Republic movement. She made speeches about freedom and liberty, met with other countries, and was elected the first President of our new nation. ” 
 
 I looked back down to Daisy ’ s face just as the sun hit her glasses. Her blonde hair shining in the wind, looking oddly like a younger version of her mother. She was staring at the other two statues now, with a look of deep thought. She had that inquisitive look on her face, nose wrinkled and head tilted. The same look she has whenever she's about to ask a question. 
 
 “ Who are those two? ” Daisy asked as she turned her head back towards me. 
 
 I know the answer, I know exactly who they are. But I don ’ t know if she's ready to know who they are or what they did. 
 
 “ Well that man ” Pointing to the third statue from the left. “ He is Derek Norton. The 2nd President of the New Republic and Vice President to President Savage. ” Then pointing back to President Savage ’ s statue. “ President Norton was responsible for rebuilding our country. After the war many cities were left with nothing but rubble. He brought all the states together under one government and established a border with the Socialist States. He was also the Brother of former Texas President Edward Norton Jr. Some people think he was the greatest American President of all time, and he was. ” 
 
 I paused to make sure she was still listening. Daisy ’ s eyes were focused on the last statue. Probably wondering who she is, what this woman did. Or she is just waiting for me to finish talking, so we can go to the ‘ real park ’. Either way, this is what I brought her here for. What I ’ ve tried to explain time and time again. But could never get the words out. But now is the time. 
 I keeled down to Daisy ’ s level and pointed straight at the fourth statue so she could see. “ Daisy do you see that last statue? ” She nodded her head as I put my arm around her. “ That is your Mother, Lily Stein. ” A flood of emotion rushed through me as I said her name. Daisy looked confused, as I expected. 
 
 “ I thought my Mom died? ” She said with a sad and confused tone. 
 
 “ Daisy, your mother died a hero. I know I ’ ve told you she died in an accident, but that's not true. Long ago before you were born our old government. The United States of America was falling apart. Things got really really bad. ” I ’ m choking up a bit but trying to explain everything the way a seven year old would understand. “ The politicians at the time split into two different groups. The socialist, who wanted the government to control everyone's lives and the Republicans, who wanted people to be able to control their own lives. Your Mother and the other three people here fought on the side of the Republicans. Your Mom was a pilot, the best pilot they had. One day she had a mission to fly into The Socialist Capitol and drop a bomb. Her mission was to end the war. ” 
 
 Daisy ’ s eyes glazed over as I kept talking. All I could think about was the night before that flight. How I begged her not to go. How I begged her to pass the mission to someone else. To let someone, anyone else take it. We talked about how dangerous it was and what would happen to Daisy if she never came back. 
 
 My eyes began to water a bit as I continued “ Your Mom flew her plane straight into Boston with several other planes. But her plane was the only one with a bomb big enough to take out their headquarters. But as your Mom ’ s fleet got closer several of the other planes were shot down. Like I said, your Mom was the best pilot they had. She flew around all the shooting, through the bombs, and right over the top of the headquarters. Just as she released the bomb they shot it out of the sky. The bomb exploded! Ripping through the top of the building sending most of the top floors falling. But it also sent your Mom ’ s plane spiraling out of control. ” At this point I really started to cry, holding Daisy even tighter. “ Her plane crashed in Downtown Boston and I never saw her again after that day. But your Mom became a Hero. ” 
 
 Daisy turned to look at me and threw her arms around my neck. We stood in that spot silent for 20 minutes, just holding each other. We did n't even talk about the fifth statue. I do n't know if she could handle that one yet. 

