Samuel reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Try not to think too much about it,” he said. “It’ll pass.”

He meant to be comforting. Instead, the answer felt thin.

Sasha nodded politely, but he could tell her thoughts had not been guided anywhere. They had only been told to stop.

That might work for a noise.

It did not work for a concern.

Over the next few days, the question returned to her mind more than once, and each time she faced it alone.