Two days later she was strong enough to sit up on her own. Four days, and she could walk to the picture window, allowing her to gaze out on the massive landscape. There was nothing like the mountains and valleys where she’d come from. The land had been flat, expressionless but familiar. This was new. Just like being waited on or being cooped up in this stuffy place. When she’d arrived, it seemed large. But once she paced...

She sat beneath the oak tree, staring out at the town. It was quaint, filled with all the small-town folk that were more superstitious than they had a right to be. No one had seen a ghost, but they believed. Maybe it lay in the way the wind whipped through the low buildings, bringing with it inhuman moans that spooked even the tough-skinned farmers. On rainy days, most of the villagers stayed inside, like today. It gave h...