She was one of those mothers who believed safety is built out of small concessions. Don’t stand out. Don’t attract eyes. Don’t love the wrong things. Don’t expose yourself. Don’t question the elders, the state, God, work, the party, the line, the proper books, the proper music. Pay. Report. Organize. Smile.

“It’s all for your own good,” she used to tell him.

And he believed her. How could he not? Children build themselves from the materials their parents hand them, even when those materials are made of fear.