[ He doesn't bother opening his eyes, because while the line of questioning is new— no one's ever asked him why things happened the way they did, because it wasn't worth asking— the answer is routine. ]
That was what they decided.
[ That's not exactly it, because he'd volunteered; saying that seems like something he did out of the goodness of his heart, though, and it wasn't like that, not really. He doesn't see it that way, anyway.
(It occurs to him for a moment that he should stop answering these questions, not only for his own sake, but for Vietnam's.) ]
no subject
That was what they decided.
[ That's not exactly it, because he'd volunteered; saying that seems like something he did out of the goodness of his heart, though, and it wasn't like that, not really. He doesn't see it that way, anyway.
(It occurs to him for a moment that he should stop answering these questions, not only for his own sake, but for Vietnam's.) ]