The finality of it hadn't struck him until the last sentence. There were limited choices to be had, and for one thing, Mr. Marlowe was right. Looking out at the areas passing by, trees and soft lights and snow... all of this was best gone from him. There is no home left, just an empty shell, and there's no one left for him here, no family, no anchor to keep him bound here.

"Where's that? The Falner Estate," the quiet note from his voice lifts into curiosity as he inclines his head slightly. Open up, he thinks to himself. Not everyone gets to breathe another breath. Some, but not all.

If he'd been in his right mind, Ishak would have wanted him to move forward. His mother most certainly too.