His expression didn’t change, but I noticed the slightest clench of his jaw. “You must be mistaken,” he said, his tone carefully controlled.
“No, I’m not,” I insisted, my voice gaining strength. “Why are you pretending?”
There was a long pause, the air between us heavy with unspoken truths and unanswered questions. Finally, he sighed, a sound loaded with years of burdens and secrets. He looked away, out the window where the night sky was a sea of darkness dotted with stars.

“I didn’t expect you to find out like this,” he admitted quietly. “But yes, I can move my legs.”
The admission hung in the air, a truth that seemed almost too big for the room to contain. My mind was a whirlpool of confusion and anger. “Why?” I asked, the word heavy with every emotion I couldn’t yet articulate.