Ah, these wild winter flowers, springing up so unexpectedly and so sweetly in spite of their inhospitable surroundings! I must agree with you on that. Thanks to you, I went out a-wandering - a little further than usual - and felt a little more hope.

So I will repay your compassion with some kind of answer here. I once travelled freely, had the world in my grasp and loved ones waiting for me at home. I should never have returned, that time: but I did, and I brought a terrible curse with me, one that has left me half-haunted in my own home.

If I told you the full extent of it, I am certain you would not write again. Open-minded and open-hearted as you are, I understand it. I would not wish the fate of those who knew me on a kind stranger such as you.

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