"Hope isn't easy," he told her. "Hope is something you have to just put faith in, work toward, bend over backward to try and reach, and usually you're met with disappointment anyway. But that's the point. Even when it fails you and even when you fear repercussion, you hope." He knelt down to be on her level and went so far as to take her hands, his voice soft but passionate. "In this moment, Malia, when you feel like you're at fault and like the world is falling apart around you--in this moment the toughest thing in the world anyone could ask you do do is to hope. I don't expect you to--really, I don't. I can't. But I can still recommend that you try."<br/><br/>He let go and stood, grasping the strap of the rifle settled across his back. Without hope he himself would have succumbed to something much darker within himself years ago. Without hope he had no idea where he might have ended up. He took a deep breath and looked out over the water. "Don't go back out again alone. If you do--and I understand if you do--tell me. I'll come with you. Just don't go alone. Okay?"