Chapter 4 - The Burden on Small Shoulders
Back at Mark's house, Lily refused to eat her favorite pancakes. She sat curled in an oversized armchair, watching raindrops streak down the window pane.
"Lily-bug, you saved my life," Thomas knelt before her, gently tapping her knee. "You're a hero."
"Then why did everyone cry?" she asked, eyes wide and brimming. "Why did Aunt Elena look so scared? Mom said doing right makes people happy."
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"Sometimes doing the right thing stops a great darkness, but it still leaves a scar," Thomas explained gently, his own heart aching. "Justice doesn't always feel like a celebration, sweet girl. It feels like cleaning up after a terrible storm."
Lily wrapped her small arms around his neck, burying her face into his collar. In protecting him, she had shouldered the world’s cynicism far too early.
