Samuel stayed quiet.

At first, that seemed wise. No awkwardness. No interruption. No risk of sounding controlling.

But silence has a way of participating.

The sisters kept talking. The speculation did not become extreme, but it became normal. The uncertainty sounded reasonable. Even Sasha, though she did not contribute much, remained there long enough for the whole atmosphere to become familiar.

By the time the group finally broke apart, no one had said anything openly wrong.

Yet no one had said what was needed either.

And a missed opportunity in spiritual conversation was not always small.