Bright light exploded across my vision, searing my eyes until I had to shut them tight.
When I opened them again, the forest was gone.
I stood—no, floated—in a vast expanse of pure white. There was no sky, no ground, no
shadows. Just endless light stretching in every direction. My head throbbed like a war drum,
each pulse echoing through my skull.
Then I saw her.
A figure, small and delicate, walking toward me from the glowing horizon.
Her body radiated with light so intense I could not make out her face, only the outline of her
petite frame. But something about her gait, the way her head tilted as she drew closer…
It was familiar.
Pain lanced through my skull, and a rush of memories flooded in—Cara, Lina, Dora… and
someone else.
Maybe that blow to my head had killed me. Or may
