a complicated man, Emily. Don’t spend too much time alone with him,” he often said.
Whenever I asked why, he simply replied,
“Just listen to me.”
That summer, our family decided to spend a few days at my uncle’s cabin.
It stood near a lake, surrounded by tall trees.
The first two days were perfectly normal. But on the third day, my mother wasn’t feeling well, so my father decided to drive her into town to see a doctor.
I wanted to go with them, but my mother said,
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
And that was how I found myself alone with my uncle for the first time.
At first, he behaved normally. We drank tea together, and then he went outside into the yard. But when he returned, I noticed that he seemed nervous.
He kept checking his watch. Then he asked,
“
