The stage was empty, the piano still echoing in the silence.
Then the boy saw him.
The man he believed was gone forever stood right in front of him. For a moment, he could barely breathe. His face broke, his eyes filled with tears, and the only words he could force out were:
“I thought you were dead.”
But the man did not look surprised.
He looked like he had been waiting for this moment.
Then he told him the truth:
“They wanted you to think that.”