Syria’s POV The chaos had finally died down. The shouting, the scuffling, the confusion…it was all over, leaving behind only a heavy, suffocating silence that pressed against my chest. My heart was still racing when my uncle came closer to me. He reached out and gently took my hand. I could feel how cold his skin was against mine, how steady he was while I trembled all over. He started rubbing small circles on my knuckles, like he was trying to soothe me. I could see the way he forced his face to look worried, pretending that he actually cared about how shattered I was over losing my grandmother. “I’m sorry you had to see all of that,” he said quietly, eyes narrowed just enough to look sincere. “It was just an accident. You know that, right? I never meant for any of this to

