1 The First Cerin

An old lady laid in her bed, writing a lengthy letter and breathing her last few breaths as she recalled memories of her past. The woman's stunning beauty had long faded with age but she retained her signature refined and graceful nature.

The room was plainly furnished but was more elegant than her current social class normally allowed for. It was a far cry from the glitz and glamour she'd once had and was even further from the mud and grime from even further in her past.

Cerin was her name. Her parents had expected a boy and had registered the name even before she was born, leading to her possessing such an androgynous name.

Cerin had been born in a mostly self-sufficient rural village that was far off the edge of the closest large city. Back then she'd only left the city once before she'd turned sixteen.

As she completed her will, the old woman recalled seeing the wealthy family that had passed through the village and had chosen her family's inn to stay. She remembered being intensely charmed by the sparkling richness their clothing and the cleanliness of their skin.

She remembered their request to her family for her sister, she also remembered her sister's tears for her true beloved. She remembered throwing away her shame and climbing into a foreign bed, as well as the repercussions.

The man was twenty-two at the time, she was seventeen. She had never truly loved him and it was unclear as to whether he had loved her.

She had been taken to the city and redressed as a twenty-year-old cinderella bride that man had performed a wonderful love story with. She remembered being all but locked up inside the rich mansion of her dreams and facing the scorn of others as a whore that had married for money…. as well as the shame of not truly being able to deny it.

She remembered the sickness. That awful sickness that had first taken the life of her husband's father, and then his own. Leaving her with an eight-year-old son and a large fortune various vultures waited to swoop in and steal. She was 25 at the time, officially 28.

She remembered the numerous night of studying, the sleazy lawyers that attempted to trick her, and the cruel choices she had made. She remembered the teachers, who had attempted to brainwash her poor innocent son against her and her eventual choice to add homeschooling her son to adulthood.

She remembered the cruel kidnapper and her threats as well as fearfully signing the check over. She remembered the various court cases in order to get back her properties as well as her son.

She'd been 40 years old at the time, officially 43.

She remembered being tired, so tired that she'd run away. She took all of her assets with her, only leaving a small fund to keep her son in business. She recalled the novel feeling of throwing off the shackles of her husband's name and had lived out the rest of her life as a friendly neighbourhood grandmother until today, where that same illness that had taken her husband took her.

The pen clattered onto the floor as her wrists lost strength and her soul floated out of her body without any resistance.

The old woman relished the feeling of shedding her mortal bounds and looked around in wonder as she floated amongst the stars of the universe. She slowly floated towards the bright light at the end of the tunnel when a sudden suctioning force began to draw her to the side. It originated from a small but incredibly bright green star that stood out from its surrounding silver counterparts.

It was a simple tug at first but as she remembered the few regrets she'd had as a living it grew stronger. Stronger and stronger until it had totally enveloped her.