Her story takes place in a world that resembles our medieval age. All her life she has wandered without a clear aim, earnig her living by trickery and deceit or carrying out temporary jobs when she had no alternative.
She doesn't remember where she was born or who her parents were, so when she hears about a mysterious lady with a gift for fortune-telling she hurries to go meet her.
Evening. Surai enters a tent, stuck in a narrow street of a village. The interior is lightened by an oil lamp. An old woman dressed in rags sits at a small table.
- So – she asks once Surai has taken a seat in front of her, - what do you wanna know about your future?
- Nothing. I need to know about my past.
The old woman stares at her for a moment.
- People with no past… arise suspicion around here…
Surai remains silent.
- You sure you want me to find out?
- Go ahead.
- I’ll need something personal. Something that has belonged to you since before you remember.
Surai opens the sack she carries on her back and pulls out a piece of cloth wrapping something large. She unwraps it, revealing a sword, which she lays on the table.
The elderly woman puts her hands on it and looks into Surai’s eyes.
- So – she asks once Surai has taken a seat in front of her, - what do you wanna know about your future?
- Nothing. I need to know about my past.
The old woman stares at her for a moment.
- People with no past… arise suspicion around here…
Surai remains silent.
- You sure you want me to find out?
- Go ahead.
- I’ll need something personal. Something that has belonged to you since before you remember.
Surai opens the sack she carries on her back and pulls out a piece of cloth wrapping something large. She unwraps it, revealing a sword, which she lays on the table.
The elderly woman puts her hands on it and looks into Surai’s eyes.
********
“A shaman from a town called Ney carries out a magic ceremony… He’s in front of a tree, a big one… He’s done this before. He knows he shouldn’t be doing it again. The former shamans did it just once in their lives… But the situation is desperate; many villagers are dying from a mysterious illness he can’t cure… He’ll turn the old sassafras into a human being, whose blood will have the healing properties they need… He places… (the woman’s voice trembles for a second, since it’s the same sword she’s touching now) this sword at the foot of the tree and starts murmuring. The tree seems to come to life and its appearance starts changing. But something goes wrong and the shaman loses his control on the enchantment. A violent shaking pushes him back. The tree finishes its transformation and a human figure stands on the spot it once occupied. (It’s Surai.)
She opens her eyes. The shaman hurries to try to catch the laying sword but she moves quicker. She grabs it and stabs the shaman with it. Then she runs away, followed by the shaman’s dying voice as he puts a curse on her. – Damn you, evil from nature! By the auras of my ancestors, you shall be affected by our people’s disease and shall share their same fate! Once the last one of them has died…you’ll die next.”
********
Surai opens her eyes with a gasp and a shocked expression. She hastily abandons the tent, unaware of the old woman’s last words:
- Unless… you find a way to recover your original appearance.
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