Chapter 18 - LEO TURNED ON THE LIGHTLeo remained afraid of pantries.
Even open ones.
At eight, he began helping Claire bake bread.
She left every cabinet door open.
One afternoon, flour ran out.
The extra bag sat inside the pantry.
Leo stood at the doorway.
Claire did not encourage him.
She did not say be brave.
She waited.
Leo reached for the wall switch.
Light filled the shelves.
He stepped inside.
One foot.
Then another.
He picked up the flour.
When he returned, Claire said:
“Thank you.”
Nothing more.
At home, he told me.
“I went inside.”
“How did it feel?”
“Bad.”
“Did it stay bad?”
“No.”
He asked whether we could remove the pantry door.
We did.
Later, he asked to reinstall it.
He wanted proof that a door could close without becoming a prison.
We installed a lock that opened only from inside.
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Leo tested it ten times.
Then slept through the night.
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