...

The girl was floating again, her burning flame as bright as she remembered.

This time she knew what she wanted to see, what she had to do.

The white threads behind the flame were waiting for her. Without hesitation, she pulled one free and the vision shifted.

The little boy she had seen in her previous vision had grown. He must have been fourteen or fifteen, the beginning of manhood starting to show in his face. His jaw was already more defined, his shoulders broader. He was pretty scrawny for an adolescent, but his clever grin and sparkling eyes already labelled him as a troublemaker.

"Mat" she thought. She had been so blind. She should have recognised him before.

The boy was laying next to a tomb, no name engraved on it. The girl felt dark grief in his heart, but his expression was blank. Prive of emotions. A gentle hand was on his shoulders.

It belonged to a woman in an elegant tailleur holding a paper clip, the New York City police badge shining on her jacket.

-Mathias, I am sure this is not a good moment for you. - she said sweetly. -But I need you to answer to a couple of questions, ok? -

The boy nodded but did not remove his eyes from the grave.

-You have known this man as Samuel Gonzalez, is that correct? - she asked.

-Yes - his voice sounded as empty as his eyes.

-And you have been living with him since the departure of you aunt? - she scribbled frantically on her notebook.

-Yes -

-And you believe he was your father? - she asked, more slowly this time.

Mat's heart sparked with rage. -He WAS my father! -

The woman knelt next to him, ruining her tights with dirt. -I am sure he was like a father to you. But young man, the person in this grave cannot possibly be your biological father. The autopsy has shown he could not have been more than twenty. He had no record of existing anywhere. He was most likely a criminal who took you in for some secondary purposes and ... you see where I am going with this. -

Mat pulled his hands in a fist but said nothing. The girl could tell he knew he could not convince the police woman.

-And you have no family left? - she continued, back to her writing.

-No. -

The girl blinked, and a luminous thread shined from the boy's heart towards the horizon. Mat flinched, and she knew he saw it too.

The vision dissolved and showed a different scene.

The boy was reading a book entitled "Fundamentals of Genetics" and his expression was frowning deeply as if he didn't agree with some of the statements.

He was sitting in what looked like a decadent school class, surrounded by other children. None of them was paying attention to the science teacher, deeply focused on an explanation involving some stars and moon phases.

-.. And then in 1970 the Apollo 11 landed on the Moon for the first time... -

A paper airplane flew in her direction, and she stopped talking. Her attention focused on Mat.

-Mathias - she called him. - Maybe you would care to explain what could possibly be so interesting that you prefer reading about it than listening to my class. -

The rest of the students muted, some giggles spread through their lines. They were all awaiting for a show, as if something like that had already happened.

Mat slowly put down the book and smiled innocently in her direction. - I could have been reading a water bottle label, and that would still be more interesting than your lesson. -

The class gasped, some clapped.

The teacher's face went red with rage.

-Oh and by the way - he continued, unaffected by her feelings. -The Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20th 1969 at 20:17 UTC. Check your facts lady. -

The class exploded in laughter and Mat slumped back into his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. The teacher was not done with him.

- Mathias Jones, you will apologies RIGHT NOW or ... -

-Or what? -he challenged her. -You will call my parents? Yeah, good luck with that. I hear the afterworld has excellent reception. -

The teacher's mouth closed, waiting for a better treat.

The girl did not hear the rest of the conversation, the vision dissolving in stirring mist.

As she awoke again, she gasped air into her lungs as if she had been holding her breath for the entire time.

The first thing she saw, was a pair of bright green eyes staring right through her.

Mat's eye.

Mathias Rafael Jones.

The boy whom they saved from the mist people.