The Reason I Like You

I looked down at my hands.

My hands, which gripped knives and pans and lifted plates, had always been useful.

Those precious hands were completely useless now.

“I don't know what I'm supposed to do.”

It was an honest answer.

“I don't want to hurt Lady Elysia, either. And I don't want to hurt Marie. But whatever I say, it feels as though someone is going to get hurt.”

“That may be so.”

Uncle Bernard didn't deny it right away.

“But Kyle, you can't eliminate hurt altogether. What's important is not pretending you don't know just to avoid it.”

I closed my mouth...