Prologue

I was cold.

I was really cold, when suddenly I felt a warm embrace around me.

My mother, I think?

I could smell the woman’s perfume—cherry blossom with an earthy scent I couldn’t quite place. It smelled like a memory I had forgotten. Or maybe it was from a dream I’d had before.

We were walking.

No, running.

I could feel her tightening the blanket around me. I yawned and she placed her hand on the back of my head, pulling me closer to her chest. I could hear her whispering.

Was she whispering to me, or to herself?

I wanted my bed.

She set me down carefully on the edge of a rock, tucking the quilt under my chin as I looked around.

Where were we?

I looked up at the woman. She was in a white dress—or maybe it was a nightgown—it’s muddied hem swirling like shadows in the night. She wasn’t wearing any shoes.

Why wasn’t she wearing any shoes?

She paced back and forth while clutching a necklace around her neck, it seemed to glow against her skin.

Her hair was down, catching the breeze just enough that locks were softly caressing her face. She stopped and looked down at me, forcing a smile.

It was a kind smile.

A scared smile.

She lifted the necklace over her head and slowly draped it around my neck as she knelt in front of me. I rubbed my eyes as she kissed my forehead.

“Come and find me,” she whispered in my ear. And before I could fully open my eyes again, she was gone.