⸻ Damian was in a courtroom. But in his mind, it wasn’t the present. It was years ago. He stood small in the witness box, barely tall enough to see over the wooden stand in front of him. The courtroom felt endless, filled with faces he could not fully recognize anymore. Whispers moved through the room like wind through a broken house. “Tell the court what you saw,” the lawyer said gently. Damian swallowed. His hands trembled slightly, gripping the edge of the stand. “I saw them,” he said. His voice was small. Unsteady. The memory came in fragments. A dark night. Shouting. His mother’s scream cutting through the air. His father reaching out— Then silence. The lawyer leaned closer. “Do you see the person who did it?” Damian tried. He really tried. But every time he focus

