At three thirty in the afternoon, a distraught Edward returned home. He took off his heavy suit and changed into a light, white tank top and shorts before slumping onto his bed. With his limbs stretched out, he stared blankly at the ceiling in silence.

The hot afternoon sun shone through the sheer curtains and into the room, illuminating the bedroom wall. Edward stretched out his hand and observed the shadow cast by the sunlight on the wall. Slowly, he moved his fingers and the shadow on the wall moved along with it.

The shadow game was one of his favorite games to play as a child. Like a black...