The crackling flames of the campfire flickered in the darkness, their warm glow reflecting off his face. But this time, his usual smirk was gone. His crimson eyes shimmered—not with anger, not with resentment—but with something far more vulnerable.
Tears.
"Mom is still there, you know," he whispered, his voice trembling. "She's alive."
A shiver ran down my spine. My breath hitched.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely more than a broken whisper.
He wiped at his eyes and gave me a small, bittersweet smile. "Think, Adrian. Really think. She's still with us in this life."
My mind raced. Images flashed before me—faces, voices, moments I had lived since waking up in this world. I had met so many people, but I couldn't pinpoint anyone. It didn't make sense.
Until—
A name surfaced.
Seraphina.
My body stiffened. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, loud and erratic.
The first time I met her… why had I felt so comfortable? Why did the warmth of her presence feel so familiar? Why did I have the absurd thought that the way she looked at me, the way she gently caressed my hair—
It was too familiar. Too familiar.
I turned to him, my lips quivering, my whole body trembling. Tears streamed down my face as I choked out the words.
"…Is it true?"
He didn't say anything. He just nodded, his own tears falling freely, his expression a mixture of overwhelming joy and disbelief.
Then he smiled.
"Yes," he said, his voice cracking. "She kept her promise. She didn't forget."
A memory surfaced.
A memory of her.
"If there's another life after this… I'd want to be your mother again."
I was just a child back then, curled up in her arms, looking up at her with hesitant, hopeful eyes.
"Really?" I had asked, my voice small, afraid of the answer.
She had smiled—that smile, the one that made everything feel safe. She ruffled my hair, warmth radiating from her fingertips.
"I promise."
Back at the campfire, I clenched my fists, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
The faces of Mom and Seraphina overlapped in my mind.
And then—I broke.
Burying my face in my arms, I sobbed. Not the suffocating, painful sobs of grief—but something lighter. Something freeing.
Something happy.
Between my choked breaths, I whispered the words over and over again.
"She did… she kept her promise."
"She really did."
How? How was this possible?
I looked at him, desperate for an explanation.
He wiped at his tears, his crimson eyes still glistening. "Reincarnation, probably." He took a deep breath. "She might not remember, but her love for you—it never changed. It's still there, just like before."
I stared at him, absorbing the weight of those words.
Then, despite the tears, despite the raw emotions flooding my chest—
We smiled.
And for the first time in forever, it was the purest smile.
It was the best smile.
After that, we didn't need to talk about heavy things anymore.
We just talked.
About random stuff. Stupid things. Funny moments from our childhood.
About the times Mom used to chase us around the house with a slipper when we broke something. About how we used to fight over the last piece of cake. About how she would sing to us before bed, her voice the softest, most beautiful lullaby.
We laughed.
We cried.
We just—existed.