Nara did not enjoy the trip back as much as before. They stopped again in all the villages they'd passed through before, but Nara was just as anxious as Gaijan to leave them behind again. She slept in the tent fitfully, and a few times she had terrifying nightmares again. But then Gaijan would wake her up, and would hold her until she calmed down. The nightmares were always about fire, consuming and destroying as it went on its way, unstoppable, unwavering.

Finally they came to the village where Boka lived, which sat just on the edge of a gigantic forest. They stopped for the night, Gaijan again going off to Horish the farmer's house, and Nara staying with Boka. Nara knew that Boka could tell that there was something wrong. But Boka didn't ask, and for that Nara was grateful. She slept hardly at all that night, anxious about Gaijan not being close by in case of another nightmare.

In the morning they went on their way once more. As they entered the forest Nara worried about what they would find. They rode their horses down a small dirt path. She remembered Gaijan telling her about it, that it had been formed by his many visits to her. Again she wondered at him, that he would have gone back and forth so many times that he had worn a path in the ground. She also wondered if she could ever repay him for all he had done for her. 

Three days into the forest, they passed into the area that had been burned. But it really didn't look that bad. There were still black marks on the trees, but the layer of ash was gone, and all the plants and trees were green and alive. It was all vaguely familiar to Nara.

They came to a small clearing where the path ended. She got off her horse, and walked slowly to the very middle, where she knew she had been for the last eight years. She stood there for a while, staring at the ground, then turned back to Gaijan. He was standing in exactly the same place as her memory when he had encased her in the crystal. The emotions of that day returned to her. She had been ready to die. For all the horrible things she had done. She suddenly remembered. Then she took off running through the forest.

As she crashed through the undergrowth, trying not to trip on roots and rocks, she felt hot tears coursing down her cheeks. She hoped that what she remembered wasn't true. It couldn't be true. She pleaded that it wasn't true. She ran and ran, until she burst out of the trees, and saw before her what she had just remembered. The village. Her village, the one that she had grown up in. What was left of it.

Crumbling stone walls lay fallen or stood where houses should have. The fire had burned through all the lumber in the village. There was the well in the very center, where she had gone every day to fetch water, and bring it back to their little house where she, her mother, and her father lived. 

Nara forced herself to walk down the familiar dirt path. Past the ruins. Past the well. To where her house was. Somehow all four walls of the house still stood, but the thatched roof was gone, of course. She peered into the gloom, then fell to her knees in front of the doorway. She saw within two skeletons, the bones scorched black. Her parents. The tears had never stopped, but now they flowed even more, if that was possible. This was all her fault. She had killed them. All of them. All the people she had ever known in her life, gone. Because of her. Because of the evil magic that she had.

She remembered struggling with it for so long. She had never told anyone else about it, not even her parents. They would have been afraid of her. It turns out that they should have been. She thought that she could handle it on her own. Then one day, it broke lose. It was when a boy in the village, Daro, had gone too far. He was always a mischief maker, but he seemed to have a special preference to torturing Nara. He had done many things to her, but that last time, she just wanted to hit him so bad. 

She lost control of the power, and fire burst out of her, consuming Daro, the village, the forest. She tried to make it stop, but it just kept going and going. Finally she gathered her strength, and the fire disappeared, but it was too late. Everything was burned. Her parents were gone. And the power was still there, threatening to break loose again. She had wandered away from the burned village, trying to find a way within herself to contain the magic.

Then Gaijan came. She thought that he would finally free her from it. Eight years later, he did.

She felt something on her shoulder, and she looked up into Gaijan's face, full of concern.

"I-I did-this!" she managed to choke out, gesturing all around her. Gaijan sank down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned against him, tears still running down her face. No wonder she had wanted to die. Everything she ever knew was gone. She was a monster. 

I deserve to die.

"Don't talk like that!" Gaijan said, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a fierce look. She realized that she had said that last part out loud. "None of this is your fault!"

"But I let it get out! I tried and tried... but I failed."

"None of this is your fault," he said again firmly, gathering her up in his arms once more. They stayed like that for what seemed like a very long time.

~~~

Gaijan knelt there beside Nara, holding her tightly, trying not to think of the destruction all around them. He had to get her out of here. It was just too much, especially all at once. He looked down at her. She'd stopped making any sounds, but tears flowed freely down both of her cheeks. She stared blankly at a blackened stone that lay on the ground in front of her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." She made no indication that she had heard him. He tried to stand her up, but she was completely limp. So he picked her up and carried her back through the forest. They came to the clearing, and he got on his horse, with difficulty, holding Nara in front of him, just like when he had first freed her from the crystal. He headed back down the path.

Hours later he had to stop because it was getting too dark. He quickly set up the tent and laid Nara on the sleeping mat with a few blankets on top of her. She had passed out since they'd left the clearing. Gaijan then fed the horses and ate his dinner. He laid out his blanket and tried to fall asleep, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep did not come. All he could think about was Nara. 

He wondered if she would be alright after learning about what the power had done. He hoped she would be. The talisman was still working, there is no way that the magic would be able to get free. He had to make her understand that. He had to make her understand that she didn't have to live in the guilt of what happened. She could start a new life.

Hours passed as Gaijan thought of all of this, tossing and turning to try and find a comfortable position so he could go to sleep. Finally he gave up and just lay on his back, looking up through the branches to the stars high above. But, wait... there were no stars. Gaijan sat up, straining to see up into the darkness. Black clouds had filled the sky, and just then a single drop of rain fell onto his head. 

Great, Gaijan thought as he gathered up his blanket and the other supplies as more rain drops fell. Just what we need right now, a rainstorm. He put all of their supplies in the tent where Nara was still sleeping, then secured the horses nearby. By that time the clouds had opened and water pelted down in great abundance, making it hard for Gaijan to see. He finally made it back to the tent, and went inside, tying off the entrance.

"Gaijan?" He looked up from removing his dirty boots to see Nara, bundled up in a few blankets, with a frightened expression on her face. "What's happening?"

"It's just a rainstorm. Nothing to worry about. We'll sit tight and wait for it to pass." She relaxed visibly.

"You're soaked," she observed, and got another blanket and draped it over his shoulders.

"Thank you," he said, wiping the droplets of water off his face and then wrapping the blanket tightly around him. "You should get back to sleep now." Nara nodded. She scooted the sleeping mat over to make room for Gaijan, then laid back down. Soon her breathing slowed, and he knew she was asleep. Gaijan felt he could actually sleep now, too. He laid out a few blankets, and slowly drifted off.