I found myself back under the same tree, the world around me blurring at the edges. My body felt distant, like it didn't belong to me.

Toby was saying something, his voice muffled, as though it had to fight through layers of cloth to reach my ears.

Everything felt muted, numb. I blinked, trying to shake off the fog, and slowly, my senses crawled back. My vision sharpened in pieces, my hearing catching up in fragments.

"...your own potential."

"What?" I mumbled, the words still lost to me.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Toby's tone had a hint of exasperation.

"Sorry," I muttered, blinking hard to clear my head. "I zoned out for a second."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "This insignia holds the truth. If you don't understand your connection to it, you'll never tap into your potential."

"And how exactly do I do that?" I asked, frustration creeping into my voice.

"That's for you to figure out." He paused, glancing at me with something between pity and resignation. " No one knows. It's the first time I've seen it, too."

He opened his mouth as if to say more but thought better of it.

For me to figure out? How am I supposed to do that when I have no clue what this thing is and why do I even have this?

There was nothing else I could do but try to uncover more. If this insignia was my key to the truth, as he claimed, then I would use it for the same.

The phone rang, breaking the silence with a sharp *tring tring*.

Toby excused himself and stepped away to answer it. When he returned, there was a trace of seriousness and urgency on his face.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

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"It's nothing, just work," he replied.

I could tell he was hiding something, but I didn't push. There wasn't much I could do based on a hunch.

"Anything else you might want to tell me?" I pressed.

He shook his head. "I've told you everything I can for now."

He started dusting his pants as if ready to go at any moment.

" It's time to go then, I guess? " I asked.

"Yeah… It was good seeing you, Sirius." He hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "And I'm sorry for your loss. I hope the best for you and Sylv."

I nodded. There wasn't anything more to say. He nodded back and turned to leave.

"Wait a second," I called after him.

"Yeah?"

"I want to visit my mother's house again. And I was hoping you could come with me?" I asked, unsure of how he'd respond.

"Why? What's left there? You said she didn't leave you anything."

"I know, but I thought maybe we could check it out again. Who knows, we might find something." I couldn't bring myself to mention the strange feeling or the dream. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the Insignia or if it even mattered. So I kept it to myself.

Toby seemed deep in thought. After a moment, he nodded.

"Fine. I'll meet you at your place the day after tomorrow. Until then, I've got some unfinished business to take care of." His tone was serious, so I didn't pry further.

"Alright, see you then."

----

Toby left the garden, and I made my way home. There was too much to process.. too much said, too much revealed.

The weight of the information pressed on me.

The insignia, the truth, the past, the connections, my lineage... and then the dream. Could I really find something there? I wasn't sure, but I had to find out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the clock. It was time to pick up Sylv from the Fredricksens'. Before I left to meet Toby, I dropped her at their home. It was one of the only places where she felt safe and comfortable.

I grabbed my coat and headed out to their home.

---

The old couple lived in a simple house. The house was modest, with a cream-colored exterior and a red-tiled roof, standing two stories tall.

A small garden at the back bloomed with vibrant flowers and neatly trimmed bushes, where Lucy, their lovely dog, often played with Sylv. They could be considered bestfriends.

*knock knock*

I knocked on the door, but there was no response. I waited and knocked again, but still, there was no movements. It wasn't the first time this happened; the old couple often sat in their garden, unable to hear the door.

So I helped myself in and walked towards the garden, where faint sounds could be heard in the distance. I reached the room just before the garden and saw the old couple sitting their peacefully. Sylvie was sitting beside them and Lucy lying nearby.

They seemed to be talking about something, their expressions serious. If I had wanted to I could have listened in to their conversation but I refrained, an habit Lily inscribed in me.

I knocked on the door frame to announce my arrival. The old couple looked back, they seemed to have expected me.

Mrs. Fredricksen seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. There were tears in her eyes, and she was barely holding them back. I could only guess the nature of their conversation; Sylv must have told them everything.

I hadn't had much time to talk to her about the incident. We were both grieving, and then today, I went to meet Toby. I was busy and my mind was a mess as well.. I-

Excuses were all I was trying to make. Honestly I was scared to talk to her, knowing that she must have seen me kill her mother. I feared that her eyes won't reflect her father but rather a monster who had taken her mother away.

I couldn't blame her if she resented me.She was just a kid, and she must have believed what she saw. I wasn't ready to face her, nor was I ready to face myself.

I looked up, ready to face the reality, but when my eyes met hers, all thoughts vanished. Her gaze didn't reflect my fears and anxieties; instead, it yearned for her father, for me.

It wasn't my daughter, but my own despicable self, projecting my remorse onto an innocent child.

At that moment, it felt as if a dam had burst. We both began to cry, tears streaming down our cheeks as we released the pent-up emotions of the past few days. The facade of calmness shattered, revealing a vulnerable man who had lost his wife and a daughter mourning her mother.

She ran toward me, and I sank to my knees. We embraced, lost in our grief and the comfort of one another.