A tableau of memories painted itself in Jaegar's mind – the laughter of childhood, shared secrets, and a bond that time could not erode.
The woman, now identified as his sister, instructed the child to wait while she retrieved her car keys. The child nodded obediently, his innocence mirrored in wide eyes that held a spark of curiosity.
As she disappeared into the house, Jaegar stood frozen, grappling with the unspoken emotions that surged within him.
In that suspended moment, the contours of a forgotten life converged with the fragments of an alternate reality. The reunion, unexpected and surreal, unfolded against the backdrop of a world that had moved on without him. And in the stillness of that dilapidated street, Jaegar grappled not only with the unravelling threads of his past but also with the uncertain promise of a future interwoven with the echoes of family and a reality that defied explanation.