The boy watched with wide eyes, a mixture of relief and fear. He had been heard, but now the weight of his words bore down on him. What if he was wrong? What if his instincts, honed by survival on the streets, had misled him this time?

Minutes stretched into eternity as the security team and airport staff coordinated the inspection. The crowd, once dispersed across the terminal, now congregated, all eyes on Edward and the boy. Edward felt an unexpected solidarity with the child, as if their fates were inexplicably intertwined.