Epigraph

As a sixteen-year-old boy, Matthias Al-Hassan was the quiet kind of enchanting. He was the type you'd see in a party, head bent over a book, physically in the moment but spiritually worlds away. He was the soft touches, comforting, heart-on-his-sleeve person. His lips were gentle and questioning.

As a twenty-year-old man, he was unrecognisable.

Then again, August was a far cry from the boy he was five years ago.