- The first sign that something is wrong is when two gendarmes (a.k.a. police officers) come to Vahan's house to talk to his dad—he's used to government officials coming to get advice from his dad, but this seems different.
- His dad pats Vahan on the shoulder, kisses his mom, and leaves with the gendarmes.
- Even though Vahan knows this is unusual, he feels better when his grandma says they just want to talk to his dad. Phew… He'll be fine, right?
- Still though, Vahan knows something's up. The adults don't tell him much—or anything, really—because they don't want to worry him, but he knows better.
- That night, Vahan sneaks into his mom's room and asks her if she's worried about his dad; when she tells him that everything will be okay, he feels better.
- Vahan shares with us that he knew his mom lied, but he'd rather believe her for a bit than know the truth. Can't say we blame the kid.
- No one mentions Vahan's dad. They're afraid that talking about what's happened will make it seem real, and everyone is still holding out hope that he'll come back one day.
- A couple days later, Sisak—Vahan's brother—tells him that the gendarmes took Uncle Mumpreh to prison.
- Why? They claim he's a revolutionary, although Vahan knows that's not true.