[Hearing Varian's thoughts on it... helps. Because this is the first time Amal's said any of this out loud to anyone, least of all himself, and he's realizing that maybe he's in deeper than he ever planned for.]

Sometimes there isn't a clear path. I know that, I've lived that, and yet...

[He sighs heavily. He doesn't want to drag Varian down with him. He knows he has a tendency to overthink things.]

One of the first friends I made here didn't have a future to go back to, but he still disappeared... If he'd found a way out, I think he would have done everything he could to make sure we knew what it was, so that we could rejoin our friends and family.

Maybe it's all up to chance. Maybe the hold that this place has on us out-of-timers is tenuous, and it snaps like a rubber band. And then we wink out of sight and wake up where we left off.

That doesn't mean we can't help where we're needed. Whether we put our efforts toward finding a way back, or we help the people right in front of us, I think it's all worth pursuing. And if we find that way back, if we all work together and accomplish that, then our reward is... a choice. Being able to choose for ourselves.

There's no point in stressing about that decision until we have to make it.