• 4 •
I slowly opened my eyes, and felt as if my head were beneath a boulder. I could see nothing, but felt a violent shaking, and sensed I was not lying down but seated awkwardly. I tried in vain to lift or move my hands, and I could not move my legs either. I realized they were tied to a loosely fixed stake. There was the sound of hooves striking the ground and a howling wind. I could not tell whether I had gone blind, or whether a dark veil was blocking my vision.
My memory was suddenly crammed with the moments before I collapsed, the return to my old house and my old room, when the Mother Superior told me of my approaching marriage to the Righteous One. I was scared that I was in that holy bed, soiled with blood. I was afraid I had become one flesh with the Righteous One, and was abo
