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It was a cold and terrifying night in October 1917. A passenger ship, carrying Italian immigrants to New York, was caught in a violent storm in the Atlantic Ocean. On board was 28-year-old carpenter Antonio Russo, traveling with his five-year-old daughter, Maria, to America. Maria's mother had died in childbirth two years earlier, and Antonio was taking his daughter to America to give her a better future and protect her from poverty.

At 2 AM, the storm intensified. Massive waves crashed onto the deck, and water began flooding the lower decks where third-class passengers were housed. Chaos erupted as passengers panicked. Antonio grabbed Maria and pushed toward the stairs, but the water was waist-deep, and the ship was listing. He knew they wouldn't reach the lifeboats.

In desperation, Antonio spotted a broken porthole, large enough for a child to fit through. He lifted Maria, wiped her tears, and pushed her into the icy Atlantic, shouting, "Swim, Maria! Swim toward the light! The ships are coming!"

Maria was pulled from the water 45 minutes later, hypothermic but alive. Antonio Russo was among the 117 passengers who perished when the ship sank. Maria was taken to an orphanage in New York, believing her father had abandoned her. It wasn't until 1995, at age 83, that she learned the truth: her father had sacrificed himself to save her.

In an interview, Maria recalled, "I thought he was killing me… I didn’t know he was saving me. I swam because he told me to." She lived 87 years with her father's final words: "Swim toward the light." Maria passed away in 2004, at 92, surrounded by four children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren—31 lives saved because her father threw her into the sea.

This story is a testament to a father's love and the price of life. Sometimes, to save us, someone pushes us into the darkness… so we can reach the light.