I remembered my mother in the middle of the night.
Not her face.
Not her name.
Her hands.
Warm hands.
Small hands.
Hands that used to smooth my hair whenever I was afraid.
I woke suddenly, sitting upright in bed.
My heart was pounding.
For a few seconds, I didn't know where I was.
Then I heard the wind outside.
The fortress.
The war.
Kael.
Everything returned.
Except the memory.
That remained.
Soft and strangely warm.
I closed my eyes.
And I saw a little girl.
Me.
I was sitting beneath an old tree.
My legs were dirty.
My dress had a tear near the hem.
And beside me was my mother.
I couldn't see her face.
But I knew it was her.
I knew because of the way she touched my hair.
The way she leaned close when she spoke.
The way my little body immediately relaxed whene
