"I... called you?" Lilla stammered, confused.
"Yes," the woman said softly, kneeling down so that her face was level with Lilla's. "You prayed, night after night, for something more, for hope, for light, and here I am."
Lilla stared at her, tears forming in her eyes. "Am I... dead?"
The woman laughed softly, shaking her head. "No, child. You are alive. More alive than you've ever been." She reached out, her glowing hand resting gently on Lilla's head.
"But you have a gift, little one. A gift that will bloom when the time is right. And when it does, you must use it to protect those you hold dear."
"I have a gift? What gift? I have nothing, you know? I'm just an orphan, the same as my brother. I have nothing like that." Lilla's innocent blue eyes stared up at the lady in white, confusion etched into her young face.
