Back in the forest, Roric had given up on his attempts to stand up. The pale woman was next to him, sitting on her legs.
“I met your mother that day, soldier.” - the lady in white said.
“I’m sure you did.” - Roric replied.
“She asked about you and wanted to know whether you would be safe. I told her I would reunite her with you very soon. It was both horror and relief that she felt, knowing that her son would die, but at the same time that she gets to see him again.” - Mora said.
“But I lived. For better or worse.” - Roric said, confused.
“Your mother wasn’t the only person I spoke to that day. Do you not remember me, Roric?”
Roric looked at the pale lady and saw a mocking smile forming on her face. She wasn’t laughing. Only the corner of her mouth gave her away.
“What do you mean? I don’t think people talk to you twice.” - he said.
“This is not the first time we meet, soldier. I found you in the forest that day, looking not that different than you do now. You were ten years younger, but I could never mistake that hair. Your time had come that grey morning in the forest.” - she said.
Roric had blocked away these memories for the past ten years. Each time they came for him, he pushed them back into the dark corners of his mind. Somewhere where they could linger unseen, gather dust and cobwebs. Somewhere even Anya couldn’t find them. But today, he had to put them all out and let them bathe in the light.