This is my second year without my father. He was very ill for over half a year-- From the beginning of October to April, he suffered. It came so suddenly. He contracted pneumonia and never recovered from it. He was in the ICU for so long. I guess his body just shut down. Around December, they said he was getting better. Until his heart stopped. They had to put a pacemaker on him in order to keep him alive. December was also the last time he ever opened his eyes again. I don't know how he detiorated so fast. Maybe it was because of his Parkinson's Disease (which he was diagnosed with in 2005). In just September, to tell him that my aunt was coming from China so she could visit him. He was so excited to see her again. I told him I had to leave, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, but for a long time he wouldn't let go. Finally I said "I have to go Daddy." And that's when he uttered his very last words to me. "See you soon, Princess. Daddy loves you!" If I had known then that that was the last time I would ever see him talking to me, to see him smiling again...I would have stayed in that hug and never let go. I knew for a while before he died, ever since I was 10. I knew that Daddy would die eventually. He had been confined to a wheelchair ever since I was 11. Yet, when I went to visit him late at night when I was 13, his door was locked and I knocked on the door. I heard my Dad shout "I'm coming sweetie!!" I heard a loud crash and I was so worried. The nurse finally came, and there was my Dad, in the hallway, sprawled on the floor with a walker near him. It was painful for him to walk on his weak legs, but he got up and tried to RUN to the door to open the door for me. He always called me names like 'baby', 'sweetie', 'Michelle baby', but his favorite to call me was 'Princess'. I used to get so embarrassed when he called me that...Now I only wish he was here, calling "Princess!" It's only been a year since he died but it feels like so much more than that. My Daddy was my everything. Whatever I wanted, he would get it for me. When I got into arguments with my Mom, he always took my side. When nobody else would play with me, my Daddy would run up to me and swoop me up into his arms and kiss me. He would take me to the park and push me on the swings and kneel down at the bottom of the slide so I would slide right into his arms. He would let me watch TV, even if my Mom said no. He would make death threats to the boys at school who were mean to me. He would talk about how when I grew old we would die together, and he promised to walk me down the aisle when I got married, and that when I graduated from high school he would clap the loudest of them all. He said he would buy me a mansion and all of our furniture would be made of gold. I realize now that was all wishful thinking, but when I was little, I believed it with all my heart. Even though he was in so much pain, he always smiled for me...When I was made fun of for being weird, fat, and ugly, he would wipe my tears off my face and pull me into his lap. He would hug and kiss me and tickle me until I was a giggling mess and he would always whisper in my ear to me, "Princess, you are perfect. And you always will be." My Daddy was my hero. And that's why I want to dedicate this to him, to my Daddy. Daddy, wherever you are, know this. Even though the king has fallen, your kingdom reigns on. I promise, Daddy, I'll make you proud! I'll become a pediatrician and then I can help people! And even when the time comes for me to find my prince...Daddy, you will always be my king.