For the next few weeks, I busied myself with my normal chores and felt comfort in building a routine in my new life of freedom. Due to my guilt, Pasheem's and Helita's bedroom doors remained shut.

However, my neighbors continued to find ways to bring me cheer. My favorite was the weekly lunch visit with my dad's old colleague, Dr. Grosnik. He being a historian; our lunches reminded me of my childhood. Along with historical discussions, he was also a great source of local news.

During one lunch, he informed me of rising trouble along Pelnora's northern borders. To which, troops would be deployed soon. With this possibility, it only made sense that I would offer my spare rooms to those brave soldiers.

After Grosnik left, I got to work preparing my home. Pasheem's room was first. I was not surprised to find many of my things scattered and hidden amongst her own. My stepsister rarely hid her greed and thievery. An oddly unsettling feeling of relief accompanied me over the next few days as I cleaned and packed up her room. Moving on to Helita's room, I felt wary of every article. I hoped to move through it quickly, but when I came across a familiar jewelry box, my heart ached.

Gently examining my birth mother's hand-carved box, misted my eyes. My father had thought it was stolen a long time ago, but to find it hiding amongst Helita's things infuriated me beyond any anger I had ever felt. My family's money and belongings, squandered by the selfishness of a woman who stole from him. I began lashing out at Helita's belongings.

After some time, I found myself on the floor, curled against Helita's wardrobe. Crying, I was surrounded by the wreckage of my outburst.

Calming myself, I looked around the room, ready to get rid of it all. Every memorabilia, of Helita's and Pasheem's terror, was mine to discard and I was beyond ready.

Standing, my foot slid out from under me, and my knee crashed onto a pile of Helita's silky scarves. The pain I felt was certainly more than a soft landing should have afforded. Curious, I pulled back the scarves. My breath hitched at the golden necklace lying under them.

I gently held the necklace, from the old woman's gift box, up to the light and admired it. In that moment, I felt a twinge of reproachful appreciation for the fate this necklace had caused. After a moment of admiring it, I decided to try it on and gently clasped it around my neck. Though it appeared heavy, the clunky necklace was as light as a feather. I was gently caressing it when I heard a crash of glass.

Dashing to follow the sound, I found a neighbor boy rocking on his feet apologetically on the other side of a now broken kitchen window. After his profusive apologizing, we got the mess cleaned up and he promised to help me finish packing up the house as repayment. Taking him up on the offer, we set about doing the regular chores, leaving Helita's room for another day.

That evening, having worn myself out, I curled into my father's chair with a book. The chair had been one of the few things I had been allowed to keep for myself when he passed. It was one of my favorite things, and that night I fell asleep in it's comforting cushions.

However, that comfort soon left me as my sleep was wrecked with unnerving fits. My dreams were plagued with visions of fire, venomous snakes, and many other terrors. People screaming and blood everywhere. Friends, family, and strangers running. I tried to throw myself before the things terrorizing them, hoping to save them. The visions seemed to go on. But in the end, a great beast with the head of a beautiful woman began to appear.

I felt it's presence as an ebb and flow of calm amongst the chaos. It calmly weaved in and out of the visions. Unsure what else to do, I began to search and chase after it. When I eventually raced through a monstrous looming darkness, I came face to face with the creature on the other side. I stood before her as she circled me. She observed me quietly, her circle slowly shrinking, until her face was inches from my own. She seemed to be whispering to me, but a barrier of sound kept me from hearing her words.

Suddenly, a green and gold speckled stone appeared from above us. As I stared at it, it slowly descended. With every second of it's descent, I could start to make out more of the lull of the creature's voice. Though it was still warped, I noticed the voice seemed to be that of my own, but it came from the creature's mouth as it spoke. When the stone was within reach of the creature, she suddenly blew it to me with a forceful blow of wind from her lips. As the stone came closer to me, I realized my necklace was ever so slowly rising, as if to meet the stone.

Finally, the stone merged with the necklace and a blast occurred behind me. Before I could move or even look, the creature leapt and embraced me, whispering into my ear "Knowledge is life. Seek me, Karasi."

I awoke in a sweat, on the floor. A stinging pain was searing my neck. Looking down, I noticed the necklace seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight spilling into the room. Reaching to pull it from my neck, I gasped. It refused to budge at my strokes and tugs. Slowly, my brain acknowledged that the metal had embedded itself into my skin.

In that moment, I realized my dream was more than just a nightmare. The stone was beckoning to me.

However, that was not the realization that frightened me. Instead I wrestled another notion: my overwhelming desire and excitement to answer it's call.