Preface
Planet Earth.
We feel safe, in our little homes.
Our countries have armies.
They will protect us.
Or will they?
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, I slipped out of the bed that Greta and I shared. I hurried as slipped on my clothes; it was a brisk spring morning, and the early morning air nipped my skin. Quietly I opened the curtain that hung around Greta and my “room”. Our cottage was really only one big room, so we had hung blankets from the ceiling as a way to divide our house into three rooms - Mama’s room, the girls room, and the main room. Jasper slept in the main room, which served as kitchen, dining room, and sitting room. My brother slept by the fire, which lay in the center of the room. He tended it all night, making sure that our house stayed warm enough in the chilly hours of night.
It has been many years since I last told the story I’m about to tell. I live in a convent now, and most of the women aren’t interested in exiting tales of bravery, sacrifice, heartache, and adventure. A few of them, when I first came here, told me that my stories gave them headaches. After a year or two, I gave up. Forty years later, old woman that I am, I still yearn for the days when I’d run through the woods, singing like a little bird. However, let me stop this boring rambling, and begin with the story.