As they walk the street toward Sean’s home, Sarah glances over.
“What do you do, Sean?” She smiles softly. “That lady back there called you Mr. Hammond.”
“I’m the city leader,” he says. “I plan projects, keep things running.” He hesitates.
“Jordan couldn’t handle it. The city was falling apart.”
Sean looks to Arthur.
“I could never tell if he hated you, me, or himself more.”
“When he finally stepped down, I was already pushing to get things fixed.”
Arthur smirks faintly, pride showing through the lines of his face.
“Well, I know you’re good at that. We taught you everything we could.”
Sean nods, his voice gentler.
“Yeah… I was lucky to have you guys.”
Anna cuts in.
“No—we were lucky to have you. Smart kid. You were perfect.”
Sean smiles, warmth flickering behind his eyes.
As they near his house, Sean slows.
Across the street, children chase a ball, laughing in the dust.
Sean lingers, watching.
His smile falters, shadowed by memory.
“Well… this is me.”
He forces brightness back into his tone.
“Come on in.”
Thomas blurts, the words tumbling out raw.
“I’m sorry for the things I said. I was wrong.”
He swallows.
“I love you.”
He pulls Sean into a hug, every ounce of love and regret pouring into that single moment.
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Sean squeezes him back, voice rough.
“You weren’t wrong. I was being stupid. I had a family. Risking all of that for a job…”
He exhales. “I’m ashamed of the way I acted.”
Sean opens the door.
The home is neat but heavy with absence—the silence feels lived-in, not peaceful.
Arthur steps in behind him.
“Where’s Rebecca and Miles?”
Sean slips off his shoes and hangs his coat.
The silence stretches thin before he answers.
“She left me. A long time ago.”
The family freezes.
Anna steps forward, trying to fill the void.
“What happened?”
Sean exhales, his voice cracking.
“What didn’t happen? She had every reason to leave. I gave her one.”
He smiles faintly, bitter at himself.
“More than one. I was a fool. I thought I could carry everything like you all do… but I couldn’t.”
Thomas’s voice wavers.
“At least you have Miles. I can’t wait to see the man he’s grown into.”
Sean doesn’t look up.
“He died when he was sixteen. The flu. Got sick… never got better.”
Sarah gasps.
Anna sinks into a chair, trembling.
Arthur stands still, grief pulling him inward.
Thomas goes pale.
“Why didn’t you send a message?”
Sadness replaces shock, dull and heavy.
“I know we had an argument, but—”
The silence thickens—unbearable.
Sarah steps forward and pulls Sean into a hug.
Anna wraps her arms around both of them.
Arthur joins, steady and silent.
Thomas drops to his knees, gutted.
“I missed too much. Waited too long.”
The family gathers around Sean, grief and love pressing them close.
—
Later, in the Void, Sarah sits beneath the canopy, tears in her eyes.
Rain drizzles gently, pattering into the shallow pools.
The sound fills the space with quiet, aching calm.
She calls softly,
“Sean… can you come in here?”
Sean materializes just outside, edges flickering with exhaustion.
He steps under the canopy, droplets tracing down his shoulders.
The whole family is there.
Sarah hugs him, then steps back.
“You know… your mother and I spent thousands of years in a room just like this one.”
He nods faintly.
“Yeah.”
Anna’s voice comes low but steady.
“This room is different. Because we all share it. We each have our own drives.”
She meets his eyes.
“We have to work together to bring the memory books out.”
They sit together beneath the canopy.
“Just think of a happy memory,” Thomas whispers, tears shining.
“The happiest one.”
They close their eyes.
A low rumble trembles through the ground.
Five pillars rise, forming into bookcases.
Books slide into place, spines glowing softly.
Sarah steps forward, opens a glowing menu, and locks the shelves.
She pulls down a book, opens it, and touches the page.
FLASH—
Rebecca cradles newborn Miles, smiling through tears as he cries.
FLASH—
Miles’s second birthday.
He sits surrounded by gifts, curious but unable to open them.
FLASH—
Miles’s fifth birthday.
Rebeacca and Sean steady a bike. Miles falls—Sean scoops him up, tickling him until his tears turn into laughter.
FLASH—
Miles’s seventh birthday.
A clown performs. Miles hides behind Sean, terrified. Sean shields him gently, patient.
FLASH—
Sean sleeps on the couch, Miles curled asleep on his chest.
The house is quiet—a small eternity of peace.
The memory fades.
A dog barks faintly.
A porch swing creaks somewhere in the distance.
Anna closes the book softly.
“This is one of my favorite memories, Sean.”
She smiles through her tears.
“I give it to you so you can escape your day. Rex loves sticks.”
Arthur steps forward and presses a book into Sean’s hands—
the memory of holding Miles alive, warm, breathing.
“So you never forget what it’s like to hold him.”
Sarah pulls another. She opens it—Sean’s face flickers, young, alive.
“I give you this memory… so you don’t forget you’re still here.”
Sean runs his hand across the page.
The glow clings to him.
He lowers his head, shaking.
Thomas pulls one more book from the shelf, reverent.
“I give you this memory. The happiest moment since I was created.”
FLASH—
Thomas lies beside Anna.
Her pregnant belly rises beneath her shirt.
He leans close, kissing her stomach, whispering to the unborn child,
“I love you, Sean.”
FLASH—
Back in the Void, Thomas lowers the book.
A faint, trembling smile touches his face.
Sean wipes at his eyes, his voice breaking but soft.
“I’m glad you came. It’s been a rough couple of years.”
He breathes out, shaking.
“Mom, Dad… Aunt Sarah… Uncle Arthur… thanks for this. I needed it.”
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