Akira turned at the sound of weeping. She cocked her head and her brows knit in confusion. Someone was weeping, but who? She turned towards where she had last seen the man who’d become a part of these dreams and found him on his knees. She made her way to him only to discover he was the one weeping.

“Why are you crying?” she asked him as she knelt in front of him.

“Can you forgive me?” he sobbed reaching up to cup her cheek.

Akira looked at him confused.

“What have you done to me that you need forgiveness for?”

She had to admit, perhaps not to him or even herself just yet, his hand on her cheek felt so familiar. Like he had done this action before, maybe when she was really young and couldn’t recall things properly.

“There is much I have to atone for,” he murmured, further confusing her.

“I don’t understand,” she began, tears unconsciously beginning to fall.

“In time you will, min kjære, in time,” he whispered using his thumb to wipe away the tears trailing down her cheeks. “For now, I must go.”

Akira watched him stand but his hand remained on her cheek. She clutched it like it was a lifeline; the only thing anchoring her to reality in her dreams.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded her voice breaking. “Don’t leave me, pappa!”