The first Sol looked up.
"Which one of us is supposed to remain?"
The man did not answer.
The second Sol whispered, "Which one of us is supposed to disappear?"
The third looked towards the empty chair.
"Which one of us was never meant to exist?"
The fourth child turned towards Jude.
"Which one of us did you promise to save?"
The man closed his eyes.
Jude looked at him.
"You said you made the first promise."
"Yes."
"Then you must know the answer."
The man opened his eyes.
"I know what I wanted."
"That isn't the same thing."
"No."
"Then tell me what happened."
The man looked at the children.
Then he spoke.
"The first child was born in the room before the house. He was the one who asked for the tree. He was the one who wanted the darkness to have something beautiful in it."
The first Sol slowly raised his head.
The man continued.
"The second child was born when the tree began remembering things that had never happened."
The second Sol touched his pendant.
