At the sight of the pitying look on the priest's face, she sobbed. "I don't even know where to begin... what to take... what she wore or used or..."
"You just take what feels right to you. You don't have to try to be someone else... you are still the same person."
"I don't need any of this..." she said, her irritation eclipsing her better judgment. "I can just go."
"No, please," Colin said. "Maybe you just need to get out for a while. The woods here are beautiful. Maybe we can just get out and take a walk."
Gilean stayed behind with Orn as she followed Colin out to the stream beside the cavern. It was nice to walk behind him, no eyes upon her expectantly, no questions directed toward her. The musky scent of fallen pine needles forced her to relax and the forest seemed to speak to her in the tones of the babble of water over stone. Her mood lifted considerably and a clarity came into her mind. Nature somehow made everything alright.
They finally sat by the stream and simply chatted. Colin told her about her past husbands, her children, his indiscretion with Arlenia, her planar travels, her relationship with Throm, and even about her granddaughter. The entirety of the life of Sanria sounded foolish - a trial that struck her as absurdly hilarious. Far from being burdened, the twisted spiral forced from her a peal of laughter that had her rolling about on the forest floor holding her sides. "You aren't so bad when you're not taking blame for everything under the sun," she finally managed to chuckle out.
"Thank you for not running away screaming."
"Well, according to that Gilemen fellow, I did do that. Killed myself, too."
She sat up, the debris of the forest clinging to her wavy hair. She didn't notice until she looked up and saw Colin gazing on her. "And that's you... right there," he said with a whisper. They left the side of the stream and went back inside. She would stay at the cavern because for whatever reason, hearing of her past life somehow set her at ease. She may not be able to remember it, but at least she knew about it. The darkness finally didn't seem so formidable.
