Elsa hesitates a moment and then reaches to rest her hand on his shoulder. She should have thought of that, she realizes now, considered that it could be a sore spot for someone. Even for her, on her bad days, it might prove more painful than helpful. She's not very good at teaching, she thinks.

"There's no need to apologize," she says. "It's all a process." For her, she thinks, that was part of why it was so hard to control when she was young. She was loved, but it was hard to feel it through the fear — her own, yes, but also that of her parents. When they were so clearly frightened, how could she think instead of their love?

"Happiness then," she says. "Surely you've been happy at one time or another?"