1st POV: Nero Walker
***
Ever since I was a kid, I've always been distrustful of people.
Perhaps it's rooted deep within me, this instinct to hold back and observe before committing to anything.
I tend to be passive, quietly watching the actions of others before planning my next move, calculating how I should interact with them based on patterns I've identified.
At first, it felt exhausting.
Having to constantly analyze every social interaction like it was some kind of tactical puzzle.
Reading between lines that might not even exist.
Preparing contingencies for conversations that might never happen.
But I became used to it as years flew by.
Especially after creating that "new identity" where nobody knew who I really was or what I'd been through.
I thought I'd completely gotten over all that.
That I'd moved past those shadows clinging to my back.
That the walls I'd built were just temporary scaffolding that I'd eventually tear down.
But clearly, that wasn't the case.
