Samuel tried to protect Nathan by hiding as much as possible. Important conversations were cut short when he entered the room. Serious matters were spoken about in whispers behind doors. The result was not peace.

It was mystery.

And mystery, to a child, often grows teeth.

Nathan sensed danger but had no framework for it. His imagination did what silence invited it to do.

He began sleeping poorly and asking fearful questions at strange moments, his trust made weaker not by the truth itself but by being kept away from it.