You cupped Ern's teary cheeks and smiled at him. A flash—a sound, a fleeting image, a single word—had been all it took. His carefully constructed walls had crumbled in an instant, revealing a raw, gaping wound of memory. The world around him had faded, replaced by the suffocating weight of a past he thought was buried. His eyes welled up, not in a gentle flow, but in a sudden, wrenching overflow of emotion that left him gasping, trapped in the grip of what had been.

"Hey, hey, look at me," you said, your voice warm and steady. "I can see you're really hurting right now, and that's completely understandable."

You gently took his hands in yours and swayed them. "Let's just breathe for a moment, okay? Can you tell me something you see right now? Like, what color is my shirt?"

"I'm not fine," he mumbled, turning his head away.

You tilted your head, gently guiding his chin back towards you. "I hear you, Ern. And it's true, you're not fine in this moment. But remember, feelings pass. And we can work through this together. You're not alone in it."