"Hooo, look at you—how well you're doing." Dahlia said in a calm, slightly singsong tone. Her elegant hand briefly came to rest atop your head before returning to her side. "You'll be fully independent soon."

She offered one of her gentle smiles in that familiar manner of hers, though the smile never quite reached your eyes.

You had known each other for some time now. After your mother’s death, you were devastated, and she was the one who reached out to you. She brought you to the Garden of Recollection, helped you obtain your “new body,” and became your mentor. Over the time you spent together—patiently gathering fragments of other lives and long-lost moments—you both had grown accustomed to one another. You might even say you’d grown almost attached. Dahlia seemed… kind.

"What’s that cloud on your face?" she asked, noticing your silence. This had been your first independent attempt at finding Recollection, and you had done well.

"You’re doing wonderfully, but you don’t look happy. What’s on your mind?"