A moment later, the current Arcturus saw the scenery brightening. Specks of light illuminated the tips of the dark branches and started to float towards the area in front of the children. The forest started glowing white. The specks quickly gravitated towards each other and started merging to form a large ball of light; it then started shaping itself. The older Arcturus looked at the scene with awe. He never recalled this scene in his memories; he quickly looked down to glance at his intertwined hand on Nova’s.

He did remember hearing the specter when he was younger. The noise it produced was erratic; it was like a cacophony of a ringing and a buzzing noise meshed together, which was why he started stirring in his slumber and opened his eyes. “Ariel, wake up.” He shook her gently. “I hear something weird.”

Ariel stirred and slowly awakened; she became shocked at the sight in front of her. She looked straight at the shapeshifting light while the young Arcturus had no idea where she was looking.

The light completed its shape shifting process and a woman with scarlet hair appeared before them. The bewildered older Arcturus as he blinked several times; he even rubbed his eyes with his free hand. The specter in front of him was still present. He never knew holding Nova’s hand allowed him to be able to see things he normally could not. It felt unsettling to be able to see spirits.

The specter had disheveled, bobbed scarlet hair and exhausted green eyes that matched her overall bedraggled appearance.The older Arcturus recognized her face instantly; they shared a resemblance that was more profound now that he was an adult.

“Are you making me see my own mother as a part of this trial?”

“Watching this memory is a part of your trial, but I’m just helping you for now.”

Nova’s last two words seemed ominous, but Arcturus did not mind. Being able to see his mother, Henrietta, after a long time made him happy. A sudden longing came to him. He found it unfortunate she had to leave him so soon. He wondered what sort of reaction his mother would’ve had his decision to put school on hold to travel.

Focusing back on the memory, he saw Ariel too speechless to utter a word.

“Is it Mom that you’re seeing? Where is she?” Ariel pointed straight at the specter, allowing him to fixate his gaze at the direction.

Henrietta looked at them sternly. She asked, “Why are you two here?”

Ariel tilted her head quizzically. He knew Ariel could only see spirits, but lacked the ability to hear them. To her, spirits were just moving their lips inaudibly. 

“Mom!” The older Arcturus could feel the emotions behind his younger self’s words.

“Arcturus, Ariel, why are you here? The forest is dangerous.”

The sound of a mother’s scolding made both Arcturuses emotional; they were both trying to hold back their tears. The younger one fell onto his knees, startling Ariel.

“Mom, I am sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I did something I shouldn’t have and I ran away. I just don’t want to get in trouble with the mayor.”

“What did you do, Arc?” Ariel inquired.

“I hacked into the government’s database and found out that Mom had died one day after her supposed death. I learned about the cause of death too.”

Arcturus heard Nova hum in amusement. Henrietta gawked at his confession. She was speechless, and he found it understandable. Anyone would find it unbelievable that a twelve-year-old boy hacked into a database that even the most experienced hackers struggled with.

“Why did you do that?”

“I wanted to know the truth behind your death! I knew you didn’t die during the rebellion. I just hated how adults keep on lying and covering the truth. That’s why I did it!”

Ariel intercepted the conversation, “We also wanted to see you again.”

Henrietta looked as if she wanted to cry. She leaned her head back to hold off tears. She quickly changed her expression into a serious one.

“Leave. This place is not one for children to be in. The mayor strictly forbade you to enter, didn’t he?”

The young Arcturus had a worried countenance. “How? After what I did, the mayor is not going to let this slide. He doesn’t like us, after all.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“That’s why we came here. We need answers.”

“What answers?”

“Please tell us what we should do now that you’re gone! The neighbors are debating on who should take us in. A majority of them don’t want to take us in. We’ve been staying at the mayor’s place for the past month, but his wife is getting tired of taking care of us! Now that I hacked the government system, nobody will ever take us in.”

Henrietta became deep in thought and then became surprised; she seemed to have remembered something important. The older Arcturus wasn’t surprised since he knew she was quite forgetful.

“Speaking of which, I did send an email to your relatives in Lamina requesting them to take care of you. This was days before my passing. I’m not even sure if they had read it.”

The young Arcturus became surprised. “We have relatives in Lamina?”

Ariel turned to remark, “We have relatives?”

“They are your father’s parents—your grandparents. Lamina is quite far from Plasma. I am not really sure how many days it would take for them to arrive here, given how difficult it is to leave the country.”

“You want us to live with people we have never met?”

“They’re good people; I’ve met them before. I want you two to live your lives to the fullest. You can’t live freely here.”

“What if they don’t come?”

“Then, find a way to go to Lamina. I know staying in Plasma is more comfortable, but it’s no longer safe because you’ve gone and done the unthinkable. I’m also worried about soldiers too.”

The word ‘soldiers’ made the older Arcturus twitch. Anger slowly welled up within him. His free hand curled into a fist while his occupied one tightened its grip on Nova’s hand.

“Are you okay?” Nova asked, worried.

“I’m perfectly fine.” That was a lie, but he did not want to admit his anger.

“Don’t lie. I can sense your rage. Why are you angry?”

Hiding anything from Nova was futile. He did his best to maintain his composure. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I feel comfortable doing so.”

“Okay.”

Arcturus wondered if Nova already knew the reason behind his anger. He then wondered how much Nova knew about his memories; he pondered whether Nova truly understood his emotions and why he had felt such ways in his memories.

Because he was so deep in thought, Arcturus wasn’t aware of Nova calling out to him; Nova had to smack him on his cheek for Arcturus to snap out of his thoughts. When Arcturus fixed his gaze on Nova, it went elsewhere for Nova pointed towards Henrietta who seemed to be fading away slowly.

This shocked Ariel. “Mom!” She yelled. “Don’t leave!”

“It has seemed as if my time is done for this year. I don’t know when we will meet again, but I am sure it is when you two become promising adults.”

“Mom…” The older Arcturus sensed his younger self’s overwhelming sadness.

“Don’t make that face.”

“Aren’t you sad that we have to separate?”

“Of course. I’ll miss you two very much, but I’ll be in the company of other passing souls. I won’t be lonely.”

Realization came to the young Arcturus as he asked, “Mom, before you go, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Is Dad with you?”

Henrietta looked surprised with that question before she maintained her composure. She gave them a sullen smile. “Your father is still alive.”

The young Arcturus’s eyes widened with shock; he was in disbelief. The older one felt his younger’s self’s amalgamation of sadness and joy. He had always thought Arthur was dead until this moment. Suddenly, Henrietta reached out and did her best to embrace her children in her spectral form. Ariel was tearing up while Arcturus remained shocked and speechless.

“If you ever find him in this vast world, please don’t hate him.”

Arcturus whispered, “Okay.”

As Henrietta started to slowly fade away, Ariel yelled, “We love you, Mom!” Henrietta smiled as she completely faded away; the lights in the forest disappeared alongside her, leaving the lantern as their only source of light yet again. The older Arcturus removed his hand from Nova’s; he had complicated emotions welling up within him.

Ariel gripped her brother’s hand tightly. She wiped a few tears off of her face as she asked, “What did Mom say to you? Tell me everything.”

“Okay.”