Chapter 40

Gasping for breath, I awoke from my dream, or perhaps it was a nightmare. The beginning of the dream had been pleasant, but when the woman fixed her gaze upon me, my world crumbled, and I felt as if I'd plunged into a bottomless abyss from which there was no escape. Questions swirled in my mind. Who was this woman, and how did she know my name? Was she addressing me, or was this some kind of recollection from my past?

My head couldn't process everything at once. Besides the throbbing pain in my head, there was also a slight pain in my chest. At this moment, I couldn't help but be baffled by the woman, the child, my name, and the place, and thus, my confusion was getting the best of me. Like a door that opens to endless possibilities... All I knew and remember so well was the frost taking over the small abode, a magnificent sight that can also turn into something tragic and disastrous. It could symbolize plenty of meanings, but the only thing that comes to mind is