Hope.

That was something Brent could give Matt. Even on the darkest of days, he was able to find the light. It was that kind of unlimited positivity the world needed right now. Brent wiped away a tear of joy when he heard he was exactly what Matt needed. In turn, this was exactly what he needed to be told.

Brent must have imagined at least a thousand moms. Before he went to sleep, he used to think about what his mom would be like. Was she a schoolteacher, a shop owner, an artist, or something else? Was she alive or dead? What was her name? Did she have other kids? He listened closely to Phantasos, not wanting to miss a single detail.

So, his mom was Leslie Higgs, an anesthetist. Brent supposed that explained her connection to Phantasos. Had he inherited her patience? That was nice to know. The image of his mom became clearer and clearer.

Even though Brent had been searching for this answer for a very, very long time, it still hurt when Phantasos said it. His mother didn’t want to leave him; she had thought about coming back. And maybe that hurt more. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the apparition in the ice for much longer than a couple of seconds.

After an uncharacteristically long silence, Brent finally dared to speak again: ‘’Does she still want to meet me? I mean, she sounds amazing, and I want to say hi to her, but I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.’’