Young people should learn to exercise restraint.

Owen Moreland held Amelia Clarke's hands above her head with one hand and kissed her.

It was like a competitive game.

That evening at the gathering, he sat at the head of the table, watching with cold detachment as Amelia Clarke was treated like a doll and pushed into Michael Jones's arms, until she excused herself to the restroom. As she got up, she brushed her hair behind her ear, and the bright overhead light illuminated her earlobe, casting the birthmark that rested there into stark relief—a delicate flower, blooming on her right ear.

Suddenly, he remembered a time fourteen years before, when, after a fallout with his mother and feeling disheartened, he went on a long drive to clear his mind and happened to save a six-year-old girl on a stormy night in a small town.

The little girl also had a vivid birthmark on her right ear, a unique heart shape, much like a tattoo. He remembered it clearly.