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Dreams take her deep into the sea.

Hava swims, the water sliding like a lover's hand over her skin and she breathes it in painlessly as air. There's no light except for one bright shape above her and she pushes toward it with a flicker of thought to her legs that are no longer just legs.

She breaks the surface of the ocean to stand naked on the moon's reflection, a silver trail over a rippling field. She follows the lunar path to shore, and lies down to rest.

Sand against her cheek and a bright yellow haze of daylight tells her its time to move. Standing now, the wind forms little whirls of gold that become dancing figures around her feet, calling her name, urging her forward. There is no other sound.

As she walks strangers approach and cover her nakedness; first with cloth, then with metal and gems. Hava doesn't know what these things are called but feels their weight on her body, her wrists, ankles and brow and accepts them as gifts.

She arrives at a gathering of men in the shade of a temple and knows she is not in her own time. They speak a language Hava can almost remember but for now understanding eludes her. One of the men hisses something at her so that Hava recoils as she passes him and comes to stand before the King.

The man who is King turns to Hava radiating with so much love Hava is overcome with emotion and falls to her knees. She finds herself weeping and kissing his feet, wiping her tears away with her hair. There's an aching familiarity about this scene, these men, this sandy place, this King, these feet, her kisses, her tears.

The King places his hand on Hava's head and tells her, without words, to stand. His face glows and he smiles at her, pressing a hand against her heart. It contains a great Mystery, he tells Hava. It is entrusted to her alone. She must take it back with her and guard it well.

He leans in to her and kisses her mouth gently, then looks into her eyes. In their reflection he sees the depths of the cosmos, an endless darkness punched through with stars. Hava finds herself floating, swimming in those depths, stars passing her faster and faster until she is blanketed in white....

renewal

She wakes.

Hava can hear voices but can't figure out what they're saying. A dull ache at the base of her skull tells her that something's up, but memory eludes her. In fact, Hava can't remember anything except her name, which she now recognises as the voices become clearer and louder.

"Hava? Can you hear me?" A bell-like voice asks.
"Hava? Can you hear me?" an echo returns.

Hava tries to open her eyes. A strangled groan comes from two different directions at once and Hava is shocked to realise that the noise is coming from deep in her own throat. She tastes something strange and salty, like week old sushi, and breathes deeply as nausea rises in response.

"help me with her!" The bell whispers.

Hava heaves and rolls sideways as gentle hands steady her, holding her across her upper body as she retches and relieves her stomach of its contents. More hands apply a warm wet cloth to her face, wiping away traces of brackish odour.

The world comes into focus.

She sees that she's inside a vast hall or pavillion - every surface of glassy black stone, and that its night.

Taking an inventory of herself, feeling for injury, Hava moves to dislodge the heaviness from her arms and legs. Smooth fabric against her skin tells her she isn't wearing much clothing, but that she's covered in a way that preserves her dignity.

"Where am I?" The words burn a trail from her belly to her lips. Hava gasps at the pain, sending another rip through her body.

"Calm. Heal." another voice washes over Hava, sending a wave of warmth through her. The burning fades.

Breathing carefully through her nose now, she turns her head in the direction of movement and sound. The room tilts slightly and rights itself as Hava battles her disorientation and wins.

"Hava, you're home again" comes from the bell voice, drawing Hava's attention to rest on a face so perfect she wonders for a moment if she has died and is now in the presence of god.