꧁•꧂

"General Volkov,"

A man said as he addressed his commanding officer who sat at a desk, reading through reports and other political information.

"Yes?"

Volkov asked as he looked up from his work at the soldier saluted him.

"At ease."

He added and the soldier dropped his salute.

"We have found her."

The soldier handed the general a letter. General Volkov's eyes widened as he took the letter gently in his hands as if it might shatter if he held it wrong.

"After all these years."

a grin fell on his face.

"Can it be?"

He added before opening the letter and reading its contents silently to himself.

꧁•꧂

To whom it may concern,

A citizen of your country has ended up in the country of Colombia, which if you are not aware, is a great distance for someone to travel without reason. This person is a thin female with black hair, pale skin, and grey eyes. She calls herself 'Stasia' and looks to be in her mid forties to early fifties. I fear she may be a criminal or a person of your interest.

꧁•꧂

There was no other information in the letter, not even a sender or return address.

"Alert Comrade Khrushchev ."

General Volkov said as he pocketed the letter and stood from his desk.

"And ready a plane for me and my battalion to take to Colombia."

"Colombia?"

"Da."

The general replied.

"It is time to finish what my father started so many years ago."

He added, stepping out from behind his desk.

"And end this curse."

"Yes sir."

The solider replied.

"Right away sir."

꧁•꧂

"There is a curse that follows you."

Bruno blurted out at random as he led Stasia up the stairs.

"What?"

Stasia asked as the color drained from her face. Her expression fell and terror filled her eyes.

"Uh..."

Bruno began, unsure of how to explain himself.

"Knock knock knock knock knock on wood."

He said mostly to himself as he knocked on the wooded railing of the stairs and then finally knocked on his head. Stasia gave him a confused look.

"Sorry,"

He replied noticing the confused expression on her face.

"It's my gift."

He replied.

"Like everyone else here has one."

"Yours is knocking on wood?"

She asked.

"No,"

Bruno tried to explain.

"Mine is seeing the future."

he replied. The silence from Stasia was deafening as she looked at him.

"I saw yours."

he said.

"You what?"

Stasia asked with sudden concern.

"What did you see?"

Stasia asked. Bruno stopped walking once they were on the terrace of the second floor.

"I saw you."

he said flatly.

"But then I saw crowds of people, they were furious with you, the chased you and tried to kill you."

He continued and Stasia's face grew bleak.

"There was fire and gunshots and lots of shouting but then you were here."

Bruno continued.

"You were here and you were weak, you were dying. So that's when Mirabel and I went to help you."

Stasia stayed quiet.

"I know my vision seems kind of-"

"You didn't see my future."

Stasia replied.

"You saw my past."

she said and Bruno's expression suddenly fell. He had never seen anyone's past before.

"What?"

He asked.

"You saw my past. And the very thing that has been chasing me until I arrived here."

"I don't understand."

Bruno replied.

"I will explain."

Stasia promised.

"But we need to get somewhere hidden so no one else will hear."

"Someone will hear."

Bruno replied.

"But I do know a place."

꧁•꧂

"This is your room?"

Stasia said as she looked up at the towering stairs.

"Yep."

Bruno replied.

"Will wonders ever cease."

Stasia muttered to herself.

"There is a lot of sand."

She noted.

"It helps with the visions."

Bruno replied as he walked over to the stairs and took a seat on one of the steps. He patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit next to him. Which Stasia obliged. She sighed as she tried to find the right place to begin in her story, to explain to him exactly what he saw.

"There was a time,"

Stasia began, her eyes stared out in front of her as she concentrated on her words,

"Not very long ago when I lived in an enchanted world."

She explained.

"I had an Encanto of my own, if you will."

she said and the use of the familiar word caused Bruno to smile.

"It was a life of grand parties and glittering jewels and everything was perfect."

She said, even smiling to herself at the limited amount of fond memories of her childhood.

"But in an instant, everything changed. Like your family, my family was well respected by the people of our home but one day that respect was extinguished like the light of a candle that is blown out by a cold wind in winter. The people grew angry with my family, they wanted us gone. They lied to us, ran us out of our home to a 'house of special purpose'."

Stasia said the name with such disgust.

"And then one day, they decided to end it. They lined us up and told us to smile for a photo before they shot us. My mother gave me a set of jewels to keep in my corset and if it wasn't for those jewels I too would have been killed. I escaped and looked back just enough to see the house ablaze and soldiers shouting. I ran away and never looked back."