Toby froze. For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was dreaming or slipping into madness. Reality blurred, and he couldn't figure out the line between what was real and what was not. Who could blame him? He had just seen his mother.

One might think, who would react like this after seeing their mother? Normally no one would, not unless that mother had died years ago, leaving him without a chance to say goodbye. The news of her death had been distant, cold, and detached. He had only learned of her death from afar.

Seeing her now was surreal; first disbelief, then fear. A storm of emotions crashed through him in mere seconds.

His voice trembled, disbelief coursing through his whole body . He took a hesitant step closer, searching her features for signs of the past, desperate to grasp the impossible.

" Toby, my son. I missed you " His mother spoke. Her voice filled with motherly love and care for her child.

Toby's feet froze on the ground, his pulse racing. His mind struggled to catch up with what his eyes were seeing, but every logical thought, every warning that this couldn't be real, crumbled beneath the weight of his grief. The forest around him faded into a blur, all except for her. She was the only thing that mattered.

"How… how are you here?" His voice cracked, barely a whisper, as he took an uncertain step forward. The earth beneath his feet felt soft, yielding, like he was stepping into a dream.

His limbs felt light, and the edges of his vision softened, the world blurring at the edges. Every part of him screamed that this was wrong, but he couldn't resist. She was right there, and he could feel the warmth of her presence. The warmth he always desired for.

His vision blurred as he sank further into the dream-like fog. He was barely aware of the ground beneath his feet, barely aware of anything except her face, her voice. Everything outside of her presence seemed distant, unreachable.

And soon reality started to morph, and his surroundings faded and changed into a bright castle hall. Toby was no longer a man, but barely a child.

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A child who so desperately wanted to be noticed by his mother, who yearned for her love. Now, this child was reaching for her again, reliving the memories of his past, but this time, differently.

She smiled, the same tender smile she'd given his sister a thousand times before, and extended her hand. "Come closer, my son. You've been lost for so long."

The world around had changed completely now, all the resemblance to the forest was gone. There were no trees, no soil, no birds, no animals... nothing.

The sprawling wilderness had melted away, leaving only a desolate castle hall. At the end of the hall was a spacious room, his mother's room.

And there she stood, with a sweet smile on her face. The familiar smile that had always seemed distant, just out of reach. But today, in that moment, that smile was all that mattered.

It wasn't his sister his mother had called for, it was him. At last, she was giving him the love he had so desperately longed for.

Slowly and gradually, Toby was losing his grip on reality. His mind was drifting away, forgetting that he had grown up, that he was in a forest with Sylvie and Sirius, he was there for something important.

He was forgetting that this was all an illusion, and the woman before him had been dead for years.

SHE WASN'T REAL.

The years of neglect, the cold distance, all of it was slipping away. He wanted to believe, to surrender to this impossible moment.

The five year old Toby walked towards his mother, to get into her embrace. He was hungry, as he has just played for hours outside.

His mother always made good steak, but he never got much of it. Today he wanted to taste that flavour again, submerge himself in his mother's cooking.

He wanted to savor that flavor again, to feel it melt in his mouth and make his belly feel happy.

Toby began to think about all other requests he could ask her. His mind danced with his thoughts.

Could she make his favorite mashed potatoes with that? Maybe some buttery corn on the side? His little heart raced with excitement.

' Can I ask for dessert, too?' he thought, his eyes sparkling with hope. The world seemed big and bright when he was with her, filled with possibilities, and he couldn't wait to share his wishes.

A lot was going on in Toby's mind. All he ever wanted was to be seen by his mother, and now, at last, he felt that attention.

His relationship with his mother and sister had always been somewhat distant, let alone his connection with his father.

Perhaps it was a product of his imagination or simply the insecurities of a child, but he often felt neglected by everyone.

So there was no way he was letting this moment slip away. He resolved to cherish it, to grasp onto the warmth of his mother's gaze and the hope it ignited within him, determined not to let the chance vanish.

And so he ran, ran towards the hope and everything he desired as a child. Everything he desired now,is in this world of illusion.

A pure and innocent five year old child thinking about his mother's cooking, excitement bubbling inside him.

How cute it would have been, if it were actually true.

For the best or for the worst, but he wouldn't receive the recognition he craved in this world of illusion either.

His will to survive overshadowed his childhood desires. As he got closer, a deep sense of foreboding gripped him.

Something nagged at him, an itch in the back of his mind, a whisper buried beneath layers of longing. This wasn't real. He had seen her die. He had buried her with his own hands.

And yet… the warmth of that smile still beckoned, pulling him closer to the abyss.