The evenings when everything had seemed safe.

And finally, I wrote a line about Dad.

About a man who had forgotten how to speak after losing the person who understood him best.

I didn’t excuse what he’d done.

I didn’t pretend the years of silence had been easy.

I simply tried to tell the truth.

By midnight, I had a complete rough recording.

For the first time in my life, I’d finished a song that felt important.