Chapter 11: A Child’s Simplicity

The man looked down at the girl.
She looked back up at him, her expression calm as always.
“Did you know this would happen?” he asked gently.
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why didn’t you stay quiet?”
The question wasn’t harsh.
Just curious.
The girl thought for a moment.
Then answered in the simplest way possible.
“Because she was pretending,” she said.
The adults didn’t speak.
“Pretending makes people confused,” she added. “And then they get hurt.”
Her words were soft.
But they carried a clarity none of the adults had managed to find.
The woman in blue looked away.
The blonde woman closed her eyes.
The man exhaled slowly.
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Sometimes, truth doesn’t need to be complex.
Sometimes, it just needs to be said.