Badge 216
Ten year old David Starsky stood beside his mother and tried not to cry. His father, Michael David Starsky had been killed three days before. He was a fireman for the New York City Fire Department and was trapped in a burning building that collapsed before he could get out. He had been trying to rescue a child that a tenant of the building had told him was still inside. Afterwards, it turned out that the child was safely outside the building with her parents the entire time.
David and his six year old brother, Nicky, had been playing in their front yard when the official looking car pulled into the driveway. Both boys had stopped to stare as the two men climbed out and walked up to their front door. They rang the bell and their mother, Rachel, answered. It wasn't until she burst into tears that the boys realized that something was terribly wrong.
Now, Michael Starsky was gone leaving behind his wife and his two young sons. David had spent the last three days in his room, crying and avoiding the family members that had gathered at the little three bedroom house to mourn the loss of Michael Starsky. And late at night, after everyone was gone, he had heard his mother crying behind her closed bedroom door.
Following Jewish tradition, Michael Starsky was laid to rest three days after his death. After the service, the mourners returned to the Starsky home to sit Shiva. When the mourning period was over, Rachel Starsky pulled her eldest son aside and pressed a worn leather case into his hand. Smiling, she walked away.
David opened the case to find his father's badge inside. A single tear ran down his cheek as his finger traced the badge number engraved in the metal. 216. Silently, he vowed to make his father proud of him someday.
THE END