“But my mother made sure I didn’t,” he continued. “She used to tell me stories about how we played together when we were young. That was one of the few times I ever saw her happy after that. And once I was old enough, she usedto tell me about what the country was like before the Harts took over. I began to see injustice everywhere I looked, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And I couldn’t ignore it, regardless of the privileges and advantages I would have had if I did. She’s the reason I do this. My brother is the reason I do this.” Finally Richardlooked at me. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“I wanted to hear the truth, that’s all,” I said, at a loss. Something inside me felt hollow, and instinctively I started to reach across the space between us, needing to offer him some for
