It was a Tuesday when the men came.

Dad just came back with a boat full of fish and Mom was out the back door with her laundry.

Dad knew they were trouble before they reached the village outskirts. I knew because his lips mouthed Her silent prayer when they caught his eye. Knowing better, I followed suit.

The last thing I knew was that we dropped the net full of fish on the jetty and ran back home to get Mom. My… Memory’s a little spotty after that. Between the running and slamming of doors, looking for Mom, and frantically grabbing the trinket Jimmy gave me the previous winter, I couldn’t… remember much else.

I… No… I am… Not sure what happened after either. I think… I think… They caught… They caught… Us, and… N-no, it’s too painful.

But then… But then, that’s when she came to me, when Mom and Dad were battered and lifeless on the ground.

You are next, she said. You are next. Look what they had done to your father, his throat open for defending your Mom’s honour. Look what they did to your Mom anyway. You are next, unless… Unless you submit to Me. Be My hand on this world. I will protect you, slay your enemies. I will whisper the secrets of the world to you. Don’t you want these men dead? Don’t you want… Justice for your parents? Don’t you want… To Live?

That conversation took the time it took for the nearest man to blink and by the time he reached me, I had made the bargain.

Like a velvety hand holding mine, She guided my actions. Like a half remembered dream, she moved my hands, danced using my body and I was just a passenger in my own eyes even as she thrilled in the joy she deigned to share with my soul as she masterfully dispatched the men, showing them mercy they never showed Mom or Dad.

I suppose that was where you found me the first time.

Her ecstasy was infectious. So much so that even when she relinquished some of her control over me, I could feel my innermost being feeling Her joy when the opportunity to… Dance again presented itself. Were they my words or Hers? Who could know? Perhaps the more accurate answer now is… They were ours.

She left me shortly after we parted ways. I cried a little-no, a lot when She left.

I said I was sorry back then because I didn’t want to kill all those people. Even when they deserved it.

But that’s not the case. I am not sorry. Not anymore.

So here’s the how and why I found you again, Hal and Quinn:

She whispered to me a week ago that this is where I’ll find you. And she told me that our travels together will bring me back to Her again.