“When I was in my teens, our family always used to go to the same place for groceries. Always the same day of the week, always the same time when our parents got home, always passing through the same spot to the parking hall when we were done.

Then we got a dog. The day we usually went shopping he had a vet’s appointment, so we postponed groceries. That day, right around the time we would have been passing through that usual spot to get to our car, someone detonated a bomb, killing and wounding several people.

I knew what would have happened to us without our dog who managed to save us simply by existing. I started crying, thinking how close it was. Later I’ve been thinking how many lives it affects when something like that happens – one second in one spot, and the lives of countless family members, friends, coworkers and acquaintances will never be quite the same again. And it’s not only the death. Many survivors were injured permanently and suffered for years because of it, maybe even today. It could happen anywhere, and it will. Again and again. One day I may not cheat death again and it will be my family that is affected.” – NightFellTooFast