His mother leaned back in her chair, looking at Erend with a calm but attentive gaze.
"If there's something on your mind, Erend, you can talk to us," she said gently.
Arty, sitting just beside her, turned toward him and nodded.
"Yeah," she added softly. "You don't have to carry everything alone."
Erend went quiet. The breeze rustled the leaves above them while he stared out across the backyard, thinking.
There was a lot on his mind—more than he could ever say. Most of it was too risky to share, too steeped in the chaos of other worlds. He didn't know if even mentioning certain things could bring danger to their doorstep. Better, maybe, to keep it all buried.
But staying silent too long had its own weight. The more he held back, the more it felt like he was building a wall between himself and his family—isolating them from his life. He didn't want that.
So he took a breath, choosing his words carefully.
