In Which We see Someone Dying

As usual, my commentary is in italics, with the exception of dialogue.

The doctors left behind a memory full of personal objects strewn about. With an umbrella, they proceed to move forward to...

... A stormy day outside the lighthouse. We see Johnny standing right over his wife's grave, wearing an expression of grief. The doctors begin talking.

Dr. Watts: When it comes to rain, "through" is better than "onto".
Dr. Rosalene: I don't mind it regardless.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Johnny) Seems like these memory hops only span a short period of time...
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Neil) We need to find a leaping memento, or it's going to take forever.
Dr. Watts: (turning to the cliffs on the right) Meh, enjoy the scenery.

Demonstrated here is the issue of relying on mementos - if the memories linked by them aren't close enough, or miss vital information, or are too close, you run the risk of having a poor understanding of the motives you're currently investigating, or of blowing time looking at irrelevant/empty memories. I would sure hope these doctors knew about these shortcomings and prepared some contingency plans to deal with them, it would be embarrassing to fail because one memory with a vital clue in it got skipped thanks to the wrong memento being chosen.

We can only interact with the gravestone, the platypus doll, and the door to the lighthouse. The lighthouse door is blocked, requiring 3 memory links to be collected. The gravestone gives a link, the platypus two. It also causes some conversation.

Dr. Watts: Honestly, I just don't think this animal has the right to exist.
Dr. Rosalene: The world's not big enough for two of you.

The doctors move inside the lighthouse, but Rosalene hears Johnny speak.

John: It's finished, River.
- Rosalene turns to face Johnny.
John: Like you, I'll be able to watch over her everyday.
John: ...She won't be alone anymore.
- Johnny closes his eyes solemnly for a moment.
John: I might never understand why, but I stayed true to your wish.
John: I'm sure Anya is grateful to you, too.
- Johnny again solemnly closes his eyes.
John: But when I'm gone...
- A sound of thunder clapping blows through the background.
John: ...Who is going to watch over us?
- Rosalene makes herself visible to Johnny, and walks towards him.
John: ...Who are you?
Dr. Rosalene: My name is Eva. I was just passing by.
Dr. Rosalene: Was she your wife?
John: Yes. Her name was River.
Dr. Rosalene: That's a special name.
- Johnny solemnly closes his eyes again.
John: It didn't need to happen.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously) Hm?
John: She... She didn't need to do it.
John: But she...
- Johnny solemnly closes his eyes yet again.
John: You wouldn't understand ...I don't even understand.
- Rosalene backs away and turns invisible again, heading back into the lighthouse. Thunderclaps are heard again.

The author tries to make a sentimental scene here, but it doesn't quite work for a fairly simple reason - Johnny is nothing more than a cipher at this point. It's hard to be sympathetic to characters we barely know, especially when they talk about things we don't know about, like some Anya character or his wife's wish to "watch over her".

Now, this is not so bad if we consider it as part of a setup for a mystery, except the dialogue spent lots of words trying to make us feel bad for Johnny without really establishing much about him. I partially excuse the author since he's forced by form to tell his story backwards, but I do hope he gets better about this later. 

We get a note, but it is as inconsequential as the ones we already have. A quick climb up the steps, and Rosalene reaches the light chamber, where Watts is waiting for her.

Dr. Watts: About time you got here... I almost thought you fell off the cliff.
Dr. Watts: What were you doing?
Dr. Rosalene: Enjoying the scenery, what else?
Dr. Rosalene: (looking around for a bit) Any luck here?
Dr. Watts: (walking towards the platypus doll) Big luck. Huge. Dinosauric.
Dr. Rosalene: (walking forward and looking around some more) Huh, this place looks pretty empty.
Dr. Watts: (turning to Rosalene) It's a lighthouse. What do you expect?
- Neil turns back and moves even further towards the platypus doll, but turns around to talk some more with Rosalene.
Dr. Watts: Anyway, I'll catch ya on the other side. Have fun rebreaking the barrier for yourself.
- Watts disappears, leaving Rosalene to herself.

Not sure why these doctors seem to like teasing each other instead of sharing important details. Like, Neil should've pointed out about the rabbits being personal to Johnny, as should Rosalene have with her little visit to Johnny. In my notes, I described these doctors as sounding like a divorced couple, and even this early in the story they are living up to it.

We can examine the platypus and the lighthouse lamps. Obviously the platypus is the next memento. The lighthouse lamp is broken, and also gives out a link. And spawns a sad Johnny, who also gives one after brooding for a bit. Rosalene moves on to...
 

... Someplace that's not the lighthouse or the house! We see Johnny standing next to a woman in her old age, presumably his wife River. She is lying in bed and is clearly quite ill. Johnny begins to talk.

John: Just enough.
- Rosalene moves towards him, and a few moments pass.
John: After we pay for your operation, we'll have just enough left for it... So don't you worry.
River: (solemnly closing her eyes) ...White lie.
River: That's what you call it, right?
Johnny: (forcibly throwing down his hands) No, I'm sure we can jus-
River: Stop it.
- A few moments of silence pass, then River speaks.
River: ...I don't like it when you lie.
- Johnny is left speechless.
River: I calculated our finances; I know how it's like.
River: (solemnly closing her eyes again) Why do you try to convince me against my will?
John: (exclaiming) We need the money for your medical bills, River!
John: (pulling back his hands) I understand that Anya means a lot to you, but this... This is just too much.
John: I mean, she-... She isn't even--
River: (turning towards Johnny) Do you know what makes me happy, Johnny?
- Johnny is stunned.
John: ...What?
River: Do you?
- A few moments pass. River turns back to rest on her bed.
River: Well, I do.
River: I just... hope you can help me with it.
John: River...
- A few moments pass.
River: (solemnly closing her eyes again) When the papers for my treatments get here, I will not sign them.
River: What you do with our money is upto you.
River: But if you would grant my wish, I want you to use it to finish building that house.
River: (turns around to face Johnny again) ...And then, for every day that you live there, I want you to watch over her.
River: Visit her. Speak to her. Comfort her.
River: ...I don't want her to be alone anymore.
- Johnny blinks, perhaps still taken aback.
Johnny: And what about you?
- River turns back to resting on her bed.
River: ...Happy.
- River closes her eyes solemnly again.
River: I'll be happy.
- Johnny solemnly closes his eyes. River speaks up.
River: Johnny?
Johnny: (opens eyes) Yes?
River: (turning towards Johnny) I made this.
- River gives Johnny the blue and yellow paper rabbit, the same one we got from the lighthouse. Johnny turns around to look at it hard.
River: Tell me what it is.
John: (bewildered) What?
River: Just tell me what it is.
Johnny: (turns around, looking at it hard) It's a rabbit, like all the others you made.
River: What else?
- Johnny takes a look at River, and then at the rabbit.
John: Um, it's made of paper.
River: What else?
John: Its body is yellow, and the rest is blue.
River: Good. What else?
- Johnny is stumped.
John: Look, River,
- Johnny puts aside the rabbit then talks to her more.
John: I wrote a song. It's for you.
River: Okay.
- Johnny is speechless for a while.
John: Well... Would you like to hear it?
River: Yes
- Johnny walks to his piano. River suddenly interrupts him by talking.
River: You didn't have to bring the piano in here for this.
- Johnny turns back his head towards her.
River: I can hear you just fine with the door open.
- Johnny closes his eyes solemnly, then moves on. At the piano, he prepares to play it, and speaks.
John: It's called "For River".
River: Why so cliche?
John: It's...just a placeholder.
- Johnny begins playing the title theme on piano, but it's slightly different from when the kids played it. Neil walks towards Rosalene and they both watch him play.
Dr. Rosalene: Who is this "Anya" they were talking about?
Dr. Rosalene: If she's so important, shouldn't we have seen her in his later memories?
Dr. Watts: I guess he didn't keep that promise after all.
- Rosalene turns around, looking at River.
Dr. Rosalene: Unless... 
Dr. Watts: (turns to face Rosalene) Unless what?
- Rosalene turns around again.
Dr. Rosalene: Nevermind.
Dr. Rosalene: (turns quickly to Neil and back) Hey, that's the same song the kids were playing earlier, huh?
Dr. Watts: (turning back towards Johnny) I guess he taught them.
- A few moments pass.
Dr. Watts: Y'know what, I'm too manly for this. I'm heading on.
Dr. Watts: (turning to Rosalene again) I already got my memory links, you wanna hitch a quick ride or look around yourself?
1. Stay and explore
2. Leave now

You don't miss too much by leaving, but I'll show off what happens when you stay and explore. Also did Watts see the scene with Rosalene if he already collected his memory links? Perhaps he has a rewind button somewhere.

1. Stay and explore
Dr. Rosalene: Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you.
- Watts proceeds to walk towards some freshly plucked flowers in a pot. He turns around to face Rosalene after being most of the way.
Dr. Watts: Don't you miss the days when memory-audio-to-MP8 conversion was legal?
Dr. Watts: I think I brought home over two thousand songs during my first year on this job.
- He then proceeds to vanish.

Pretty long sequence, with quite a bit of background to infer. Basically, River wanted Johnny to build a house overlooking a lighthouse. This was so crucial to her that she chose death just so there would be enough money to build the house. Johnny had found out about their financial situation earlier, and tried to blatantly lie to River about it, but she caught him quick. She also kept trying to elicit some sort of response by making a bunch of paper rabbits, the final such rabbit having yellow and blue. While the game tries to be vague about "Anya", you can see from the clues so far that it's heavily implied to be the lighthouse, which certainly makes her last wish rather curious.

Overall a fairly competent scene, while it is perhaps a touch too dramatic it actually proceeds to build on hooks from before, and fill in details about the life of these two characters while making new hooks to keep the audience interested. I also like that Watts subtly acknowledges that he was a dick earlier, and now asks Rosalene if she wants to leave with him or explore the memory on her own.

We are free to explore. We can interact with The Emperor's New Clothes, the fresh flowers, and Johnny and River themselves. Of these, The Emperor's New Clothes generates two links, the fresh flowers are the memento, and Johnny produces a note about For River while River produces a note about paper rabbits. Exploring the rest of the house, we find that River's room is on the second floor. The first floor has a pot of dough, a jar of pickled olives, and Johnny and someone else trying to move a piano. As you can imagine, all of these generate links, and Johnny has some dialogue with this new(to us) person.

Nicolas: I'm telling you, there's just no way.
John: (turning towards Nicolas) What if we take it apart?
Nicolas: Look at us, John. We aren't exactly at the ripe age of piano moving.
- Nicolas moves towards Johnny.
Nicolas: You know what, if this means that much to you, I'll pay for the professionals to do this.
Nicolas: ...I can't help saving that house for you, so this is the least I can do.

It's a bit amusing that Johnny insisted on moving such a huge piano upstairs. I know, concerns over his dying wife and all, but the visual image of it going up a narrow staircase is still funny.

With that done, all we have to do is break the orb and solve the puzzle.

This is about the hardest these puzzles get in this game. There's not an obvious pattern to fill, instead you need to think ahead and create a situation that will lead to the whole image being filled. Of course, you can just keep mashing buttons and eventually get it filled, but thinking carefully for a bit pays off. This is also one of the few puzzles that's not rendered simplistic by merely using the diagonal at the start, though it does employ it. Pretty ironic then, that this is the one puzzle you can skip.

Rosalene prepares to leave herself. She travels to...

... the cliff overlooking the lighthouse! And Neil is waiting for her again. 

Next time, we keep digging through Johnny's memories and perhaps finding what's behind River's last wish. See you then!

Next: In Which We Feed our Patient.