.:The otherworldly one:.

     « Few understand, or at least know, why Alastair chose her. Being noble and rich, he chose her, Daughter from the other side of Ioka-river. The one without a family or home, where she could return. 

     Afen was a simple girl. Pretty, quiet and calm. She was ready to give shelter to the homeless, to cure the incurable, to understand and forgive the most sinful on this land. Not because duty or kindness tells her so. She just wanted to. Meeting her for the first time, many would have thought she was the holy one, but the next day they would be deeply surprised and call her the obsessed one. 

     Only on the third day of our acquaintance, it became clear to us why the locals reluctantly went to the Daughter for help and did not like talking about her at all. When we entered her small hut in the suburbs to thank her for Alastair’s cured leg, we saw her lying on the table and talking to the chair. She did not notice us, and has never mentioned our arrival in future encounters. She definitely left an impression. 

     A month later on a holiday, which local people celebrate in the summer in honor of the Virgin Ioka, she came barefoot, wearing only a white robe and a huge wreath of fragrant herbs and flowers. She did not say or explain anything, only took Alastair by the hand and rushed with him into a dance by the bonfire. The locals did not say anything to her, just pointed their eyes towards the sky, as if they were praying to Mother. When her dance came to an end and she finally released Alastair, he looked like he didn't even understand how he got in here. 

     A year later, somewhere closer to the end of autumn, when it was already impossible to come out without freezing your ears, Alastair found her at night in the shallow waters of Ioka-river. She was completely naked and hummed something under her breath, braiding withered flowers soaked in cold water in her hair. This time she noticed him and joyfully called to join her. Alastair froze for some time, staying on the riverside, but could not take it for too long and rushed into the water to pull her onto land. The next day she caught a cold, but was more than satisfied and did not take offense at all to her “savior”. The list of her oddities did not end there. Rather, it was just beginning. 

     The rest of the time, she was completely normal. She was collecting herbs, cooking potions and checking on the health of others. We spent a lot of time in her company. While we were talking, she sat beside and read a book, sometimes joining our conversation. You could talk about anything with her and learn something useful. However, you should be prepared for the fact that in the middle of the conversation, she can seriously think about what the bird in the sky and the mole in the ground share in common. 

     Perhaps Alastair found charm in these oddities of her, because he soon ceased to be surprised at all and took it for granted and quite natural. Unfortunately, not everyone thought so. 

     Locals tried to avoid Afen. Some of them reluctantly talked about her. The Daughter's unusual behavior scared them so much that if someone fell ill, they would hide them in a hurry anywhere, so she could not find out about that. However, her coevals were jealous of her, especially when she married Alastair. They did not respect her, but admired her beauty. They could spend hours wondering how any of the dresses would suit her so well or how her unbraided and neglected hair could always be smooth and silk-like. At times, these magpies even asked Afen to lend them a dress for the evening, so they could see if it suits them. She did not mind that, even if she wanted to wear it herself. Alastair did not like it at all, because from time to time some dresses weren't returned. 

     She always said to us that trees could talk. Moreover, not only them, but also everything else spoke to her, from the stones under her feet to the Ioka-river herself. When she and Alastair had their own house on the other side of the river, the garden was her declared residence. If you could not find her anywhere you looked, then she would definitely be there. She remembered the name of every flower, every tree. The most beautiful and unusual plants, which no one has ever seen here, could grow and survive under her care in such sometimes hostile conditions. Sometimes it seemed as if the grass tried to reach for her feet. 

     She was clever and gladly absorbed new knowledge. When Alastair refused to take her with him on a deal in another city, claiming that she could fall off and get hurt, she came to me and asked to teach her to ride a horse. A week later, she was the one taking her husband on adventure, almost losing him on the road. After that, she miraculously saved the deal from failure, so Alastair began to always take her with him and refused to sign any contract without her. 

     She loved listening to stories and often told them herself. This trait manifested when she and Alastair had a child - a boy named Samelion. She could spend hours with him in her arms and only talk, talk and talk. She told him about the world he can never see, and perhaps, we cannot as well. Sometimes they would just go silent, sitting together in an embrace and listening to the whispers of leaves. She was always with him, wherever they go. She loved him and taught him to love, putting all her wisdom, kindness and strength into him, even when she could not get up by herself. 

     Everyone thought she was witless, that only wind walked in her mind. We just believed that she was the otherworldly one. Sometimes it seemed to me that one day she would turn into a bird and fly away along the Ioka-river over the mountains in order to discover a wonderful new world that she had seen in her dreams. Perhaps, she did find her wings and now she is waiting for us, the loved ones, to give us her love again? »