I awoke abruptly, realising that I was at an unfamiliar location. The cold stone floor on which I lay reminded me neither of the pile of rags at my cave, nor of the comfortable bed at the abandoned cabin that I had recently discovered.

A band of moonlight streaming in through the one window that I could see at the corner of my eye, lit up parts of the room. It left the rest in deep shadow, making it difficult for me to assess the size of the space. I lay there unmoving, trying to focus my senses to gather as much information about my apparent confinement as I could.

How cold was the air? Was there any sound of life, such as animal growls or human snoring? Were there any distinct smells I could pick up?

The temperature in the room seemed about the same as the forest, and there did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary in terms of sight, smell or sound. The floor appeared to be brick-laid, suggesting that this could be one of the many fortresses near the mountains away from the city.

Was I alone?

For several seconds I tried to assess as much as I could, to piece together my current situation.

There was no such feeling in any of my limbs, and my body did not give any painful sensations. Taking a chance I slowly moved my arms. I grabbed hold of a piece of wood, which from its weight, I could easily tell was the grip of my rifle. Sleeping with a weapon close by – that was more like me. So, that meant that I wasn’t in any real danger, right? I sprung to my feet taking aim at anything suspicious around me. I could hardly make out the features of the room.

That’s when I froze; my rifle pointed directly at the creature near the window.

Apart from the moonlight, there was now what appeared to be a second source of light in the room. Rather, there were two sources; which I could relate to being eyes, staring back at me. This was no wolf or tiger. The glow was far too dim, yet it distinctively persisted through the shadows. Slowly, I could make out the silhouette of a woman.

Long hair, slender figure. Yes, definitely a woman, but… what was that sticking out of her back? The woman sat on her haunches, with her arms crossed on her knees. Her clothing seemed to be a loose cloth robe which covered most of her body but left her arms and legs exposed. The moonlight gleamed off the metal she wore; a sort off ornamental armlet and a few rings.

She must have been shivering from the cold. If I had I my bearskin, I would have offered it to her. Probably.

But my main suspicion about this woman was what was jutting out of her back. At first I thought it may have been wings; but that would be impossible. It was most likely an extension from her clothing, that hung loosely behind her.

I lowered my weapon and approached the figure.

“Are you lost?” I asked, to confirm that this was in fact a sentient being.

“It’s amazing that you ask me the same question every time,” responded the woman. Her strong and clear voice reflected her age. However, I had never seen her before.

“Do I know you?”

“No. But you are not supposed to.”

She wasn’t making sense. “How did I end up here?” I asked.

“I brought you here. Against your will,” she said. “Much like the person who was using your body and skill to shoot me.” I had just noticed a resonance, like an echo in her voice, which did not happen with my own, and so was clearly not a result of the size of the room. This person was no ordinary woman.

I approached the window with caution. The woman was following me with those glowing eyes of hers; barely moving her head. Finally, as I reached the window, I took my eyes of her and looked outside. We seemed to be quite high up, and there appeared to be no place to latch on to to climb up – or down.

More importantly, what did she mean when she said that somebody was controlling me to shoot her? Even if I were to believe her, how exactly was that going to happen. Because, if she had brought me here as she claimed, she was implying that I tried to shoot her from outside of this room. But all I saw were the hills at a distance, jutting above the forest. I did not require a scope for any of my kills, but hitting a target from that distance was bit of a stretch.

“The door is straight down.” The woman said, reading my mind; figuratively, I hoped. When I looked at her, I assumed that her gaze into the dark space ahead was her way of pointing to the exit.

“Thank you.” I said ready to leave. I walked slowly in the darkness towards the door.

“Every time.”

I stopped. “Every time?”

“You wake up here. You ask if I am lost. We exchange a few pleasantries. And you get ready to leave. Not once did you ask who I am or how did I get here.”

“What does that matter to me?”

“If only we were permitted to kill you.” She said in a disgruntled tone.

“You could have if you wanted to.” So why didn’t she? I pondered, not sensing any malicious intent from this woman. I have come across cannibals, but they hunted in packs. I had no money, and the clothes that I wore were soiled with whatever I need to dispel insects or critters. “What does permission have anything to do with it?”

“For you, it’s nothing. For us, it’s our existence.” She emphasised the latter part as though she recited it many times.

“An existence based on the rules of another?” I spat to my side. The woman noticed my contempt and her eyes flared, glowing brighter with every passing second.

I took aim right between her eyes. Due to the luminescence, she was an easy target.

The air grew heavy. I began hearing a ringing sound in my ears. My vision blurred. Something was going on. I was certain now that this was no human. I had to take the shot or I would die. I held my finger over the trigger, took a deep breath, and…

The woman closed her eyes.

All of a sudden it felt like she had disappeared, as the glow in her eyes vanished. But I could still see her silhouette in the moonlight. The ringing in my ears had stopped, and I instinctively felt that I was out of danger.

“Just go,” she said in a defeated manner.

I became curious. “What is your name?”

The woman opened her eyes wide. The glow returned, so I could tell how wide, but it was still dim enough to indicate that she was not using the strange powers she had displayed earlier.

“Your name.” I asked again.

“What does it matter to you?” She seemed to revolt at the idea of sharing the details.

“It doesn’t,” I said as I walked back towards her and sat down a few feet away, putting my weapon down beside me. “But for some reason it seems to matter to you. I would like to know the identity of the person who let me live today. Perhaps I can repay the debt in the future.”

“A debt.” She snickered, and then burst into sudden laughter. “You will owe ME a debt?” She continued laughing. I was not amused, and quite frankly, a little confused. She probably noticed and her laughter trailed off, as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes.

“Moira.”

“Moira.” I repeated. I was not good with names, but better with faces. Repetition helped commit to memory. “Where is your home?”

“This is my home.”

“This… castle?” I assumed from what I could make of the interior.

“This room.” Moira responded.

“I do not understand. How do you eat and sleep in this cold?”

“I do not need to eat, nor do I feel the cold on my skin. Such limitations are a burden for my duty; my purpose.”

“And what is this purpose?” I asked, fascinated by Moira’s story.

“To rectify all anomalies in The Anachron.”

What did she just say ?… “What is an anomaly and… that other word you just used.” I had never heard of such words.

Moira gave a chuckle. “I forgot that you spent your formative years in the jungle.”

How did she know that about me?

“Well, I shall be erasing your memories after this, so it wouldn’t matter even if I did tell you everything.”

“Why would you need to erase my memories?”

“You remember what your mother used to say about ‘sleeping dogs’?”

My mother said something about sleeping dogs? “No. In fact, I barely remember my mother.”

“I’m sorry about that. But there is reason for everything. We see this world differently; as we should.”

Moira finally broke her gaze to look out of the window. She stared directly at the moon. Previously, her long unkempt hair blocked the light from her face. Now moonlight lit up her visage to confirm her youth. She certainly did not look like someone who had neither eaten nor slept.

I had never seen a witch before, nor had I believed that they actually existed. I wondered - is this what one looks like? Is this what it feels like to be in their presence?

“How old are you, Barik?” She said after a long moment of silence.

“I’m not sure. Somewhere in my mid 20s –” I cut myself off, realising that she knew my name. Of all the things Moira had said, this unnerved me the most.

“Not quite. You are about 11 months 243 days and 21 hours old. I, on the other hand, am 10,000 years years old. But both of us were created around 15 years ago. The fact that we can exist at this point in time, is an anomaly.”

I did not know what to say. I did not even know whether I should say anything at all.

I remember the last 20 or so years of my life. Granted, a large part of it is a blur, I can’t remember the village I was born in, but I do remember the villagers hurling rocks at me while I ran into the woods. I remember the hundreds of hunts I went on with nothing but a dagger, until I looted a rifle from an arms merchant. I even remember how many bears, wolves and jaguars I had slain, before the army organised a manhunt for me after I did not leave any game for the king. All of that could have been 15 years but not a mere 11 months.

“I think you must have guessed this, but I don’t believe you.” I said.

“No one ever does.” Moira kept staring outside the window. She sounded absent-minded: it was as if she was distracted by someone or something outside the window.