An unexplained gap in a timeline is still part of the story.

A missing stretch in an account is information. Something happened there, or something was removed, or nobody was in a position to record it. Skipping past the gap because there is nothing in it treats an absence as neutral when it is often the most revealing part.

When you encounter a timeline with a hole in it, ask what was going on and why nothing survives from that period. The same applies to a person’s account of their own life. The unexplained years are not empty, they are just unnarrated, and asking gently is often welcomed.