Our Den

Edric has spent most of his childhood confined to a quiet room, his world limited to the pages of books and his parents' gentle care. After a fall that left him with a slight spinal curvature, his family settled him into a life of reading and routine, while his mother worries that stillness is not enough for his growth. When a letter arrives announcing the summer visit of his uncle’s four children, the household is thrown into debate about opening their home to what the father calls “savages.”

The prospect of the bustling cousins—three boys and a girl as sturdy as any boy—promises noise, games, and a chance for Edric to glimpse a world beyond his glass‑shuttered tower room. He clings to a small bookmark from cousin Kathleen, hoping she might read to him and teach him chess, while his parents scramble to prepare a den for the visitors. Listeners will be drawn into the tender tension between protection and exposure, and feel the quiet hope that new faces might bring a different kind of strength to Edric’s life.