Raphael Hameed (RH), Heidi Hameed (HH) and Megiddëh Goldston (MG)
RH: I was walking my son home from the library, and a car was speeding down the street out of control, jumped a curb and hit me and my son. I didn’t know what was going on when I was laying on the ground. I was trying to get to my son. ‘Cause, I thought he was alive. But Ish was killed on the scene.
HH: About 2 days after the accident, your sister asked me to forgive her. My heart broke for her, actually. Because I know that she has to live for the rest of her life with this. And I told her, immediately, “Yes, of course I forgive you.”
MG: It eased a lot of suffering. Raphael, you could easily be still in that hospital bed, angry, like, screaming at the world.
RH: Nah. We love. That’s how we roll. And your sister made a mistake. We all make ‘em. That’s why we try to embrace you guys.
MG: I’m a single parent. And the first time that you contacted me you told me, “Oh, maybe we can give you some of Ish’s old clothes.” I’m just like, “Oh my goodness.” You guys are thinking of my son when you’ve just lost your own. And I was afraid that it’d be painful for you guys to see Zach…
RH: It was. ‘Cause he is just like Ish. [Laughs]
HH: They would have been fast friends quick.
RH: Quick. But it was a good pain. It was like a tonic. Kind of soothed my wounded spirit, so to speak.
MG: You’ll never have Ish back, but I want things to at least be as comfortable as they possibly can in the midst of worrying about how to heal your heart. I feel a responsibility to, like, at least do what I can. And I want to be here, to take you to the hospital. Anytime you guys need to leave the house, I want you to call me.
RH: You’re a beautiful woman with a beautiful child. It’s like if you’ve ever stitched anything together. There was a tear in the fabric, and we’ve been stitching it. And now my slacks are on, they look good.
