Slowly getting off her knees, Allona brushed off the ashes and turned to face the devastation. It had been a long day full of unexpected events and tragedy. With a fierce determination, she gathered up what she had left of her strength and made her way to the burning town.

Pausing every so often, Allona observed the bodies that littered the asphalt of the now deserted road. Every so often she would hear a moan or a cry for help, but there was not much she could do to help save the people who once looked at her with their acrid gazes full of disdain and hatred . Never before had she felt so hopeless and alone, yet she could not help but feel a sliver of minical joy as she watched those, who tormented her all her life, slowly burn to death in the flames of their own pride.

Once she reached the edge of town she gave it a fleeting glance, with a lonely heart and a broken body she made her way to the countryside. So very few people lived outside the town, but it was Allona’s only hope to finding salvation in a world that had given her nothing but pain. She needed to find a new beginning, a new life where the prejudices of the old world no longer existed. She needed to be free of the titles given to her since birth, names that she herself did nothing to earn. She was cursed to carry the sins of the family before her; there was nothing she could do to remove the taint that had been mixed in her blood.

Walking down a never ending road for what seemed to be an eternity, Allona finally stumbled upon a rugged, beaten down cottage which sat next to a field of what appeared to be some sort of vegetable. After standing at the edge of the property, Allona decided to cautiously walk up to the door and give it a barely audible knock. After a few deep breaths, she began contemplating whether or not it was better to risk finding somewhere else to stay. Just as she began to turn around she heard the sound of a lock being undone, Allona turned back around quickly and tried to make herself appear presentable.

She nearly fainted when she saw the face of another human being. This face was rough with wear and had a tone of a face that has seen the sun. The person was warm, lacking the chill that seemed to accompany those who lived in the city. The man had a color of eyes that Allona had never seen on a person before. Instead of the blue color that she had seen all her life, this man had eyes the color of earth. In them she saw strength, wisdom and an unexpected kindness that would never be seen in the eyes of city dwellers.

“Can I help you?”

That was all the man said. Those simple three words had the power to make Allona break down into sobs. With a gentle hand the man guided her inside the cottage and lead her to a small sofa. Allona sat down gratefully, and took a moment to recollect herself. After her fit of hysteria subsided, the man sat down in a chair across for her.

He looked into her eyes and said, “ I don’t know who you are or where you came from. The blood on your clothing tells me that I really do not want to know, but hear me when I tell you this: despite where you have been or where you came from, know that you will always have a home here with me. It may not be much, but it is all I have to offer.”

Allona looked down at the hands on her lap and began fidgeting with her fingers. After some thought and a moment of silence, she looked at the man’s face. She saw no sign of hatred or the bigotry that she was used to, all she saw was the genuine concern that the man had for her.

“So what do you say, are you going to stay here or not?”


After a brief pause and a slight twitch of her lips she answered boldly, “no. I have something I must do first.”