Gesar needed a distraction, but what? Nur hadn't returned since that fateful day, and he worried something might have happened to her. To make matters worse, he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was all he had thought about since the day he met her. Between her and the queen of his memories, he didn't know whom he loved and missed more. He sighed deeply and walked around aimlessly--not knowing what to do or how to put himself out of this misery.

"Hiss...sss."

The sound startled him, and he stopped in his tracks. A snake uncoiled from where it sat under a tree and slithered toward him. Gesar didn't move. It wasn't that he was scared of the thing--after all, what could a snake do to a ghost--rather, it fascinated him. Its movements were measured, and its eyes were trained on him. As if it had been lying in wait.

"Found you."

For a second, Gesar couldn't believe his ears. The snake hissed, but he understood the words. Found you. What could that mean? Considering his next move, he stared blankly, but the snake didn't give him time to react, say or do anything. It vanished behind the bushes, leaving him wondering if it was his imagination or did it talk. He thought about following it, but another voice stopped him.

"Gesar."

His name on her lips inspirited him. He hadn't realized how worried he had been until he saw Nur's smiling face. "You are back."

"Of course I am. Didn't I say I'll help you?" She walked up to him and stretched to look over his shoulder. "What were you staring at?"

"Nothing, it was just a snake. It's gone now," he added quickly to reassure her.

"Right, I'm not afraid of the snakes. In case you are wondering."

"No, the thought didn't occur to me." He smiled then, not a polite one he had given her before, but a full, happy smile that reached his eyes and brightened them. He realized with a start that he was happy to see her. In all the time since he woke up dead, he hadn't been happy for even a single moment. He should say something before he made a fool of himself by confessing his undying love to the woman or some such nonsense. Clearing his throat, he said, "What happened to you the other day?" That seemed like a safe topic to talk about.

Nur looked away then and seemed to be considering her words carefully. "I had a vision," she said at last after the silence between them stretched, bordering on uncomfortable. "It was about you. But also, about me." She went quiet again. Folding her hands behind her, she strolled down the garden path.

Gesar said nothing and followed her. It looked like she was struggling with words. Perhaps, she didn't want to tell him about the vision. But he couldn't think why. All kinds of horrible scenarios came to his mind. Did something bad happen in her vision?

It might be because he hadn't spoken to anyone in centuries. Or he might have always been a patient man, but he didn't prompt her to elaborate. She would tell him in her own time. Walking around in circles, she seemed to be collecting her thoughts. Finally, she stopped and looked directly at him.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "You were gone."

"Huh?" Of all the things he had imagined her saying, that definitely wasn't one of them. "Gone where? When?"

She laughed and looked sheepish. "I'm a historian. You would think I knew better than to start a story in the middle." She looked around as if trying to find an excellent spot to sit.

Thinking of the snake, Gesar stopped her with a gesture and pointed toward the stairs that led to a pavilion. "Maybe we should sit there." He could tell she was troubled by something, but that didn't dampen his mood. Just seeing her and being able to talk to her was exhilarating. She was there with him. And somehow he felt as if it was all he needed. He couldn't fully comprehend let alone put his feelings into words but he wanted to make her comfortable. When she sat down on a stair, he followed suit.

"Okay, so," she began. "As I told you, I'm a seer. I can see ghosts, talk to them, and help them remember their past. But I can also see into my own past and sometimes, even future." She looked at him as if making sure he was following her. So, he nodded, and she continued, "Last time when I was here, I went into a trance. Unexpected, but it wasn't unusual. I saw my past. Something I had forgotten; this castle in my dreams, to be precise."

"You dreamed of this place?"

"Yes, that's right, but that's not important."

"It's not?"

"No, I don't think so. I had those dreams when I was a teenager. They might be a glimpse of my future, which has already happened, now that I'm here. I found this place. So, that part of the vision is no longer important. It's the next part that's been bothering me."

"Okay," he said as if telling her to go on.

"I'm a queen in this vision. And I'm talking to a Nagi princess."

Now, she had lost him completely. He had no idea what she was saying or trying to say. Then, the word "queen" registered, and he wondered, even hoped, if his suspicion was true because he, too, had dreamed about a queen, his queen. The woman he loved more than anyone else in the world, the same woman who fell out of love and condemned his soul.

"I think I'm the reincarnation of your wife."

Her tone was matter-of-fact, but the words rocked his world yet again. It shook him to his core. No wonder the woman felt so familiar. No wonder his dead heart longed for her--to be with her. No wonder he was dreaming once again. And no wonder he fell in love with her at first sight. His soul recognized hers even if his mind hadn't connected the dots. Nur's appearance started ripples in his somewhat stagnant life, and for a good reason.

As soon as the ray of hope bloomed in his heart, the cloud of doubts engulfed it. He was dead. No matter what their past was or how much he loved the woman in front of him. The bottom line remained that he died while she lived. God gave her rebirth while his soul was still tethered to earth, unable to move on to the next stage of the afterlife.