บท 429: Guilt trip

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked, looking at her daughter's eyes. "I thought you had an exam to attend."

"Mother.." Amy muttered, still reeling from the sudden change, "Is he_ is he really gone?"

Hearing her question Artemis's eyes flickered, just for a second, with something that Amy couldn't decipher. Pain? Anger? Grief? But her response was swift, sharp as a blade. "Don't."

But Amy was too confused to notice the changes in her emotions and still kept speaking. Explaining. Hoping her mother will answer her and help her. 

"Please, Mother," she pressed on, her voice rising, desperate. "You have to listen to me. I had a dream—no, it wasn't a dream. It felt real. Rio—he was alive. I saw him. You were there too. I don't know what's happening. My mind—it's all so…" Her voice cracked, and she pressed her hands against her temples, trying to piece together the fragments of memory slipping through her fingers.