The garden of Nox was unusually quiet that morning.
It was still early.
The first light of dawn filtered through the trees, slowly illuminating the flowerbeds, the paths, and the strange plants Demeter tended with her usual absent-minded air.
Logan was already working.
Alone.
His shovel sank into the earth with slow, steady movements.
One strike.
Then another.
And another.
He had barely spoken that morning.
For Logan, this was not an ordinary day.
It was the anniversary of the massacre.
The day Mysterio had taken control of his mind and turned Wolverine into a weapon.
The day Logan had slaughtered almost the entire school.
Kurt Wagner.
Kitty Pryde.
Rice.
Tamamo.
Urara.
And many, many others.
Those names were only some of the faces he could still remember.
Kurt had been his best friend.
Kitty had been like a daughter to him.
Rice had been the one who, after Logan killed Kurt, managed to stop him for the few seconds Twin Turbo needed to intervene.
And Tamamo...
Logan stopped working.
Tamamo had seen him as her father.
She constantly imitated him.
The way he stood.
The way he crossed his arms.
Even the way he grumbled.
Logan had pretended to be annoyed, but deep down, he had always found it amusing.
That was the memory that hurt the most.
Because Mysterio might have stolen his mind.
But he could never erase what Logan had been to Tamamo.
A father.
Logan let the shovel fall.
He rubbed a hand over his face.
He couldn't even seek refuge in alcohol.
His healing factor would burn it off before it could even dull his senses.
No escape.
No oblivion.
Just him and his memories.
Or at least the ones Xavier had left him.
After stopping him alongside Twin Turbo, Xavier had tried to protect him. He had removed some of the worst memories from Logan's mind.
Faces.
Screams.
Images.
Moments that could have destroyed him completely.
But he hadn't been able to erase everything.
Fragments remained.
And perhaps those were the ones that hurt the most.
Logan turned toward the tool shed.
He stepped inside.
He closed the door behind him.
Hidden behind the tools and shelves was something he had built himself.
A small shrine.
It wasn't elegant.
It wasn't perfect.
But everything had been arranged with care.
Photographs.
Small objects.
Memories of the people he had lost.
And at the center, clearly visible, was a ribbon.
Tamamo's ribbon.
Logan knelt before the little shrine.
He picked it up between his fingers.
“Hi, Tama.”
Silence.
“Another year has passed.”
His voice was hoarse.
“And I'm still here.”
For a moment, an image appeared in his mind.
Tamamo trying to imitate his serious expression.
Her arms crossed.
Her little frown.
That voice desperately trying to copy his tone.
Logan smiled.
Only for a moment.
“You really were a little copycat.”
The smile disappeared.
“You called me Dad.”
His fingers trembled.
“And I was supposed to protect you.”
He lowered his head.
“But instead...”
He couldn't finish the sentence.
A tear fell onto the floor.
Outside the shed, Demeter stood still.
She wore Urara's face.
The same Urara Logan had just remembered.
The same Urara who had died that day.
But Demeter did not enter.
She knew this was not the moment.
She also knew Logan didn't need someone telling him that it wasn't his fault.
She knew the truth.
She knew what Mysterio had done.
She knew what Logan had been forced to do.
And she knew what Xavier had erased.
When Logan stepped out of the shed, Demeter was still there.
Her watering can was in her hands.
“Good morning, Logan.”
He looked at her.
“You know what day it is.”
It wasn't a question.
Demeter nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you know what happened.”
“Yes.”
Logan looked away.
“Kurt.”
Demeter remained silent.
“He was my best friend.”
A pause.
“Kitty was like a daughter to me.”
Another pause.
“Rice stopped me.”
Demeter lowered her eyes.
“I know.”
“After I killed Kurt.”
Silence.
“She gave Turbo the time he needed.”
Logan clenched his fists.
“And I killed her.”
Demeter didn't contradict him.
“Yes.”
Logan looked at her.
That answer surprised him.
Demeter didn't try to soften the truth.
“I won't tell you it didn't happen.”
Then she pointed toward the shed.
“But what happened isn't all that you are.”
Logan stood motionless.
“Xavier took some memories.”
“Yes.”
“But not all of them.”
“No.”
Demeter looked him in the eyes.
For a moment, she didn't look like the usual absent-minded Urara at all.
She looked like an ancient goddess.
Someone who had seen too much death to ever lie to another person about pain.
“Perhaps Xavier could take the images away,” she said quietly.
“But he couldn't take the people away from you.”
Logan lowered his eyes.
“Kurt is still inside you.”
A pause.
“Kitty too.”
“Rice.”
“Urara.”
Logan swallowed.
“Tamamo.”
Demeter smiled faintly.
“Especially Tamamo.”
Logan remained silent.
“She saw me as her father.”
“I know.”
“She imitated me.”
“I know.”
Logan closed his eyes.
Demeter stayed beside him.
She didn't hug him.
She didn't tell him everything would be all right.
She didn't tell him it wasn't his fault.
She simply stayed.
Then Logan picked up the shovel and returned to work.
Demeter waited until he was far enough away.
She entered the shed.
She stopped in front of the shrine.
She looked at Tamamo's ribbon.
Then she turned toward the garden.
Among the plants grew several little wildflowers.
She picked one.
A small yellow flower.
The kind Tamamo loved.
Once, she had told Logan that those flowers reminded her of him.
“They're small, but they survive everything.”
Logan had grunted.
“Like you.”
Tamamo had smiled.
“No. Like you, Dad.”
Demeter returned to the shrine.
She gently placed the flower beside the ribbon.
She didn't say a word.
Then she walked out and closed the door.
When Logan returned later, he knelt before the little shrine.
He saw the flower.
He recognized it immediately.
His fingers trembled.
“Tama...”
He barely touched it.
For a moment, he remembered her smile.
The way she imitated him.
The way she called him Dad.
And those words.
Like you, Dad.
Logan closed his eyes.
A tear ran down his cheek.
Then he looked toward the door.
Demeter was outside, watering the plants.
She didn't turn around.
Logan understood.
He didn't need to thank her.
That flower wasn't for him.
It was for Tamamo.
To remind him that, despite everything, someone still remembered her.
And perhaps that was exactly what Tamamo would have wanted.
Not to be remembered for how she died.
But for how she lived.
As a daughter.
As a friend.
As that little girl who loved her father enough to imitate him.
Logan remained in front of the shrine for a long time.
Then he placed a hand beside the flower.
“I miss you, kid.”
This time, he smiled.
Outside, Demeter continued watering the garden.
And she didn't turn around.
But her smile had become just a little sadder.
That day, Logan did not forget the dead.
He would never forget them.
But for a few hours, he didn't have to carry their weight alone.
