But satisfaction was not the same as justice, and it was not the same as love, and it was not what his brother, or the situation, or Daniel’s own soul actually needed.

What was needed was for one of them to stop the bleeding.

So Daniel let his hands fall open, and he chose the harder thing, which was mercy, and in choosing it he began the long work of repair that punishment could never have started.

You cannot rebuild a family by striking the person you are trying to bring home.

He understood that, in the rain, with his hands already open, and he held his brother instead.