"Are they fighting again?" The innocent voice of the five-year-old pierced through the hall, causing the eleven-year-old to startle. He turned around abruptly, his heart pounding with a mixture of surprise and concern. There, at the end of the dimly lit hallway, stood his younger brother, clutching a big fluffy teddy-bear tightly against his chest. It was the same toy he had cried for incessantly just three days’ prior.

The eleven-year-old's gaze softened as he took in the sight of his little brother, a pang of protectiveness welling up within him.

Severin wiped his teary cheeks with the back of his trembling hand, the tracks of tears leaving glistening trails...