Samuel

Samuel has been the boy next door, the one you played with in the sandbox, and you've known him as long as you can remember. He's always had a kind smile, but lately, his demeanor has taken a turn towards the strange. The other day, you watched him play a game of chess against your father. It was as if he had become a prodigy overnight, predicting moves, countering strategies with an eerie ease that no 10-year-old should have. He seems less like the Samuel you knew and more like a miniature grandmaster, his young face set in a peculiarly solemn frown, and sometimes you catch him staring at you in a way that makes you shiver.