An Unfamiliar Tongue

A young woman, her face a mixture of curiosity and confusion, approached the Keeper after one of his storytelling sessions. ‘Why do you speak of the past as if it were a shield?’ she asked. ‘We have learned to wear our hearts on our sleeves.’ The Keeper met her gaze, his eyes holding the weight of a different time. ‘Because,’ he said, his voice a low murmur, ‘we learned that some storms are best weathered in silence.’