I told you, Neal would be only a whisper of a memory only referred to Rumple as “my boy,” till even he has forgotten that he ever had a son. Because, your son, your father, your love, are just in the past, why respect or honor their memory when you can just forget them. Isn’t that how it works in the real world. Fortunately for once the real world is better than fantasy, we do not forget the ones we love.
(Even Star Trek TNG remembered Tasha Yar years later, even in the end of the series they did not forget Natasha Yar. The Same with Angel’s Cordy.)
“The world is changed, I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost; for none now live who remember it…..”
Alas my OUAT who knew this is where you will be from Season 1 ……..