Angus and his sons had finally arrived at home. All their way home, Edmond kept saying that he saw the lady at the cemetery but his father and his brother did not see anyone. They started to ignore him after a while and Edmond noticed the silent treatment that he received from both his father and his brother.
Since Edmond came back from the forest, Neil had grown distant from him. He did not spend as much time as before with Edmond. It got worse since Neil heard about William's sudden death.
As for Angus, he had been trying to deny everything that he discovered in the forest. He made it clear to both of his sons and Jill that no one lived in the forest. He had trying to get that idea into Edmond's and Neil's head. Edmond resisted the idea whilst Neil was trying to keep it calm, playing along with what his father wanted.
Only Jill who knew the truth of why Angus had been trying to hide the fact of whoever he saw in the forest. And just like Neil, Jill also made sure to close her lips. However, she felt sorry for the young boy who was now feeling lonely and neglected by his father and his brother. Jill knew that Angus had a lot on his mind and he did not mean to push the young boy away from him. Still, Edmond was left alone.
"How is the Mayor and his wife?" Asked Jill to Angus when they were having lunch.
"They're very devastated. I would be too, if I were them. It was so sudden." Said Angus. His eyes were looking down on his food.
Jill nodded and hummed in agreement. She knew what it felt like to lose a son. She had lost her long time ago and it still pained her until now. Jill's eyes then fell upon Neil who barely touched his food. She then spoke to him, "Neil, would you like me to make you something else?"
Neil shook his head. "No, thank you, Ms. Jill." He then dipped his spoon into the meat soup and brought it to his mouth, trying to eat it just to make the woman happy.
Jill sighed, looking at the boy. She did not insist on making other foods for him, knowing that the boy was heartbroken after his friend passed away. Her gaze then went to Neil's brother who was eating like usual. Jill knew that Edmond had not been aware of everything like his brother did.
"Do you like your food, Edmond?" Asked Jill, wanting to include the young boy in the conversation between the meal time.
Edmond lifted his head from his food and turned to Jill, who held a kind smile on her face for him.
"Yes, Ms. Jill." Answered him shortly. He flashed a wide grin at her.
"That's good! Have some more, Edmond." Jill pushed the pot closer to Edmond and helped him to have another scoop of meat soup into his bowl.
Angus and his family spent the rest of the day at home. Jill tried to entertain the boys by telling them a story while Angus sit on the chair next to the fire place, reading a newspaper.
The day had gone by, as the night came with a thunderstorm and heavy rain, darkening the night in the land of Easton.
That night, Edmond was travelling into the forest in his dream.
In his dream, the sun illuminated the whole forest as he walked deeper into it. Leaves whirled in movement of wind. Instead of seeing green leaves, everything was yellow and brown, promising warmth to him. The sound of birds chirping was heard, giving him a calm atmosphere as he walked around in the forest, looking for his friend.
"Edmond!" Came an excited voice of a girl in the forest, calling the boy who turned his head towards the owner of the voice.
"Finch!" Edmond chimed in, running towards the blonde girl who had a bright smile on her face. Her hair was left open as usual and they were blown by the wind, making the girl's whole appearance livelier than usual. Her usual wet dress now looked dry and it was swirled around as she ran to him, meeting him in his mid way.
"You've come back!" Finch exclaimed. She gave Edmond a hug before giving a peck on the cheek. "I've missed you so much!"
"Yeah, I've come." Said Edmond, bewildered by the fact that he could go the forest by himself but excited at the same time to see Finch again. "Let's play, Finch."
They both started to play together, playing one game after another until they were both feeling exhausted. Finch taught Edmond how to climb a tree. Surprisingly, Edmond could climb the tree after studying the way Finch did it. He climbed the tree effortlessly and sat on the big branch next to the girl. They both laughed together, telling some funny stories until the sun set down.
"We should come down. Let's eat at my oasis. Mosley must be returning shortly." Finch said as she started to climbed down the tree.
Edmond agreed with her and climbed down the tree after Finch. When his feet touched the ground, he turned around to see Finch had gone.
"Finch?" He looked around but the girl was nowhere to be found. He started to walk to where he could possibly find her, he did not find her. Soon he realised that he just got lost. He did not know where to go and his heart started to beat faster than usual as he grew more and more nervous.
"Edmond." A woman's voice was heard, making him turning his head around to see a woman came walking towards him. "You should not come to the forest, my dear."
Edmond studied the woman carefully, looking at her strange feature which oddly seemed familiar to him.
"I'm lost. I'm looking for Finch." Said Edmond. His brown eyes did not leave the woman who came closer to him.
"You'll see her again in a different place, my dear. Let's go home." The woman reached out her right hand to him, gesturing him to hold her hand and come to her.
Edmond looked at her hand skeptically. His eyes now found the woman to be similar to the one he saw at the cemetery earlier that day. Edmond did not know why he could feel the pull to come to the woman and to take her hand. He followed his instinct and placed his hand on the woman's.
She smiled at him brightly which warmed his heart as he smiled back at her. He did not know her but he felt like he found his solace in her.
"What's your name?" Asked Edmond. His eyes stared at he woman curiously as they started to walk.
But before the woman could answer him, a familiar voice came to interrupt them.
"Marry! You've found Edmond."
Edmond turned to owner of the voice who was none other than his father. What was his father doing there?Asked Edmond. Did he come to look for him again?
"Papa?"
Angus came forward and embraced the woman in a hug. Seeing this, Edmond looked at them in confusion.
"I thought I have lost you both." Said his father. His voice was soft and gentle. Angus then looked at his son. "Don't wander around in the forest anymore, Edmond. You got your mother and I worried." His tone of voice turned firm as he scolded Edmond.
"Don't tell him off, Angus. Edmond is still young." The woman complained to Angus.
Realisation came to hit Edmond who finally realised that the woman was his mother. A woman that he had never met in his life. A woman that he had never known. A woman that he had always longed for.
"Mama…" His voice broke down as he started to sob. "Mama."
"Shsh, dear. I'm here." Marry curled her arms around her son and brought him to her chest, hugging him tightly.
Edmond closed his eyes as he hugged his mother, clutching onto her tightly, afraid to let her go.
"I'm here, dear." She soothed him, gently patting his back.
But then Edmond started to notice the difference in her voice. He opened his eyes and pulled away from the woman's grasp, to face his disappointment.
His dream had gone. He had come back to real life where it was only Ms. Jill who came to hold him in the night time when he had nightmare.
There was no his mother.
"Mama." He murmured in tears. "I saw Mama, Ms. Jill."
"Oh, Edmond. She must have missed you very much." Responded Ms. Jill who was feeling sorry for the boy. Jill knew how much Edmond wanted to see his mother. He grew up without seeing her. Not even her portrait. "Come, dear. Don't be sad."
Meanwhile, in another part of town in Easton, a woman with a green cloak walked towards an empty land that had fence surround it. In the middle of the land, a group of four people wearing the same green cloak stood in circle. They noticed the woman had come approaching them, ready to join them. The woman walked gracefully towards them and bowed her head to all them as she came close.
"Greeting my friends." Said the woman who just came.
She was responded with a short snort from them.
"You've made such a quiet sacrifice! How do you feel about it?" One of the persons said to her in a mocking tone.
"Aren't you happy with that, Gerald? The boy deserved to die." The woman smiled sinisterly at them.