He was in his cell, waiting to be executed, and he asked as a last…See more.

“My son,” he began gently, “would you like to confess?”

Elias turned his head, considering him.

“I don’t know what I’d be confessing to,” he said.

The priest frowned. “Your sins.”

Elias looked back at the mirror.

“I know what I did,” he said. “But I don’t know why I did it.”

The priest was silent.

“That’s the part I was hoping to see,” Elias added quietly.

By midday, the light filtering into the corridor shifted, casting long shadows across the floor.

Elias had not moved from his place.

The guard returned, unable to shake his curiosity.

“Find what you’re looking for?” he asked.

Elias did not answer right away.

Instead, he raised the mirror again and studied his own eyes.

“They’re not empty,” he said finally.

The guard leaned closer. “What?”

“My eyes,” Elias said. “They’re not empty.”

There was something in his voice now—something new. Not quite joy. Not quite sorrow.