I did not press Ernesto further that day, because I could see he was frightened, and I did not yet understand of what.

But I made a decision, standing behind that workshop, that I would find out the truth for myself, with my own eyes, and not depend on anyone else’s courage to hand it to me.

It was the first honest decision I made in the whole affair.

Nearly everything I did with the truth after I found it, for the next two weeks, would be a betrayal of that first honest impulse — because finding the truth and knowing what to do with it, I would learn, are two entirely different skills, and my family had only ever taught me the first.

Chapter 6 — No Mistaking It

The following night, I made sure.