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Chapter 178: The Question Mother Never Asked
Arjun woke before sunrise and found his mother sitting on the back steps.For a moment, he stayed where he was.The sight felt unfamiliar in a way he couldn't explain. He had spent so long imagining what it would be like to see her again that he had never considered the simplest possibility: she might be awake before everyone else, sitting quietly in the cold morning air, watching the garden.She held a cup of tea between her hands.“You're awake early,” she said.“So are you.”“I haven't slept in an unfamiliar house for a long time.”“Is that why you're sitting outside?”“Partly.”Arjun stepped onto the porch and sat beside her.The garden was still damp with dew. The repaired fence cast long shadows across the path, and the golden plant near the window had folded its leaves inward against the chill.His mother followed his gaze.“You've made a home here.”“We're trying.”“That's different from what I expected.”He looked at her. “What did you expect?”She considered the question.“I
Chapter 177: The Morning Someone Came Home
The knock came just after sunrise.Arjun heard it while he was trying to convince Nox that breakfast did not require three different kinds of bread.“Someone's at the door,” Nox announced.“I heard.”“Are you going to open it?”“I was planning to finish this conversation first.”Nox glanced at the table. “You haven't won.”“Neither have you.”Eli laughed from beside the window, where he was attempting to teach the golden plant to grow toward the sunlight by rotating its pot every morning.Elias had already gone outside to check the garden. When Arjun opened the front door, however, he found neither a neighbor nor a delivery worker waiting on the path.A woman stood beside the gate.Her clothes were travel-worn, and dust covered the edges of her boots. A small bag hung from one shoulder. She looked tired, but there was something steady in her expression, as though the journey had been difficult without being a mistake.For several seconds, neither of them spoke.Then Arjun's face chang
Chapter 176: The Toy That Remembered
The wooden horse was missing one ear. Nox discovered it beneath a stack of old blankets in the storage room and carried it into the kitchen as if he had uncovered a priceless treasure. “Can we fix it?” Elias looked up from the table. “Probably.” “Then why are you saying probably?” “Because I haven't examined it yet.” Nox placed the horse carefully in front of him. Its faded paint had peeled away in several places, one wheel was missing, and a thin crack ran along its wooden body. Whoever had made it had carved the legs unevenly. It was not an impressive toy. Nox loved it immediately. “What's its name?” he asked. “It doesn't have one,” Elias replied. “Everything should have a name.” “Does the missing wheel have a name?” Nox considered the question seriously. “Not yet.” Arjun entered the kitchen carrying a basket of vegetables. “Please don't encourage him. Yesterday, he named three spoons.” “They were different spoons,” Nox protested. “Two of them were identical.” “They
Chapter 175: The Things We Leave Behind
The kitchen tap stopped leaking at precisely nine the following morning. Arjun considered this a personal victory. Eli considered it a temporary achievement. Nox considered it proof that the house needed a repair schedule. Elias considered all three opinions unnecessary. “You understand,” Arjun told Nox, “that a repair schedule means someone has to follow it.” “I know.” “And that someone will probably be me.” Nox looked at Eli. “Then we should make the schedule very detailed.” Eli laughed so hard that he nearly dropped the basket of vegetables he had brought in from the garden. For a while, the kitchen filled with ordinary arguments. Nobody discussed missing records, old photographs, or people whose lives had taken them beyond the reach of memory. Elias found that he liked these mornings. Not because they erased the past, but because they gave him something new to remember. After breakfast, he took the repair guide Mara had brought and sat near the window. He had placed it
Chapter 174: The Life He Never Told Them About
The folder marked Daniel Vale remained on the shelf for a week before Elias finally stopped checking whether it was still there. He had expected the decision to leave the search unfinished to bring immediate relief. Instead, the first few days felt strangely empty. There was no new record to examine, no old address to visit, and no missing signature to explain. For years, Elias had treated unfinished things as responsibilities waiting for him. Now he had to learn what to do when a responsibility ended without an answer. Life, unfortunately, offered no instructions. On Monday morning, Arjun discovered that the kitchen tap was leaking. On Tuesday, Eli misplaced an entire bag of seeds and blamed the wind. On Wednesday, Nox announced that the golden plant needed a name because calling it “the golden plant” was becoming repetitive. “It's a plant,” Arjun pointed out. “People have names.” “People aren't plants.” “Some people are difficult enough to be mistaken for them,” Eli said f
Chapter 173: The Door That Was Never Locked
The photograph of Amara, Thomas, and Daniel remained on the kitchen table for most of the evening. Elias had placed it beside the open wooden box, but he had stopped picking it up every few minutes. He had begun to understand that looking at the photograph would not make the missing years return. Some memories came back as images. Others returned as feelings without explanations. And some, perhaps, would never return at all. For the first time, he was trying to accept that distinction. Nox sat across from him, drawing three figures on a sheet of paper. One was tall, one had long hair, and the smallest had an enormous head. Elias studied the drawing. “Is that supposed to be us?” “The tall one is you,” Nox said. “The one with the long hair is Eli.” “And the one with the enormous head?” “Me.” “I'm glad we've established that.” Nox grinned and returned to his drawing. Arjun entered carrying four cups of tea. He placed one in front of Elias and glanced at the photograph. “Any n
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