His mind replayed the afternoon’s events over and over, and he vacillated between blaming Robbie and himself for what had happened. Ultimately, he decided that it wasn’t the fall that resulted in his friend’s death but his unanswered prayer, and so he placed the blame squarely on God. On the night that he offered up his final words to the divine, he had gotten down on his knees beside his bed and delivered the seething supplication through teary eyes and gritted teeth.

“You let him die. You let him die even though I asked you not to. I—I…”

His voice quavered with the ferocity of what he was about to say.

“I…hate you. You abandoned me and I will never forget that.”

Though the memory of Robbie and what happened faded, the lingerin...

Please subscribe to keep reading.