OutCry

Helsinki is not a safe place to grow up.

It is a town that teaches people how to disappear, quietly and completely with no traces to track .

Tom Queens knows this better than anyone.

His father never hit him .

And that made him all the more dangerous.

The line between love and control blurry .

His mother loved him .

Her devotion dedicated towards a broken church and surviving an even more broken and dangerous marriage .

They were the picture perfect family .

At least on the surface.

Because when it was ball time the masks had to come on .

Behind closed doors love becomes control , obedience a means of survival. Tom realises the importance learning when to speak and keep shut lest his fathers hand strikes , with biting words .

His fathers cruelty was never made to leave a bruise, but I'd leave a permanent mark .

A story about abuse that leaves no bruises, love that demands ownership, and a boy who must decide whether escape means running away or confronting the truth of what he has been raised to become.

Helsinki in all its glory .