Secrets are expensive to keep. Every one of them comes with a monthly storage fee.

A secret is not a one time payment. It has to be maintained: remembering who knows, keeping stories consistent, feeling a small drop every time the subject gets close. The effort is invisible and continuous, which is why carrying one for a long time is tiring in a way that is hard to explain to anybody.

Some secrets are worth the fee, especially the ones that belong to somebody else. For your own, ask what telling would actually cost, and compare it honestly to another year of storage. Often the dreaded conversation is cheaper than the rent.