Warmth and light suffused me and I felt myself expand. Each corner of me seemed to unfurl and lift toward the sun. Even She, tucked into a darkness I could not touch, lightened around the edges beneath the deluge of light.

Into this bliss I heard, Yuliya, that’s enough, with echoes of affectionate frustration. I blinked, the world gone lavender, and saw the door to the cottage had opened enough for a face to peer at me.

As I fell back into myself, the light drained from me, and I noticed traces of another in corners of my psyche. Confusion and anger flared and I took a step forward. The face behind the door looked down then back up at me and I heard, I had to know, so many lives depend on it, regret and memories of fire and death echoing.

A hand fell on my shoulder, the world dimmed, and the lethargy that had been my companion during the trek crept back. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had gotten tired of being manipulated.

“No!” I shouted, and She began her ascent in my defense.