Lia looked up at George, frowning. "No. Even if people are forgotten, they never leave. Our history is all around us, like the streets we walk on and air we breathe. In fact, when someone is forgotten, their lessons lost, it's probably when they are the most powerful because then the loom above us like great shadows. Our past informs our present, and the more mindful we are of that, the more power we have, opposed to what they have over us."
Pausing to point a spot on George's palm, she explained, "Do you see these little, like, hairs that splinter off of your heart line? But how they intersect, too? It's how you deal with trauma, by laughing it off. How did your brother react to you losing your ear and the terror of losing you? He laughed it off; if you couldn't muster that same ability to look into the most awful thing you knew and carry on like normal, does that mean that you're letting down Fred?" She sighed. "You can't ask him. You can't journal him or owl him or even pick up the phone if you were so inclined. You look at how he lived his life and reflect that back on yourself like it's an immutable truth. But it's how you have lived your whole life: reflecting back on each other. Always."
With a breath in, she met his eyes. "You asked, 'How am I supposed to get through the rest of my life without Fred?' You need to start by recognizing that you'll never be without Fred. It's how to get through life with what he's left you in a way that doesn't make you feel like you're half-hollowed inside."