She sprang awake with a gasp, glancing around her hut. It was a normal quiet morning; the morning birds sang, the sun shone around her door, the wind rustled the trees outside, and she lay alone. She passed her hand over her eyes with a sigh. When did she fall asleep? She could have sworn she'd laid there all night, or at least till dawn.

She rose from her cot, and slowly stepped outside her door. All was quiet and calm, the air felt cool beside the warm sun. She guessed she needed to get used to living alone again. There was no point in acting as if it would be different. Everything would be just like it was. For years...

She pushed herself to go about her typical chores. She fed the smokehouse, she went foraging for berries and edible plants, and everything that fell on her to complete. Everything she did was back to normal, but it somehow felt different. It felt quieter, and it felt off. As if she'd forgotten something she had meant to do, but forget was the thing she hadn't done. Every time she turned around, she half expected to see someone watching her, judging her.

She worked on every job till dusk came. She fed her small fire, ate and drank her dinner, and sat on her cot. Tomorrow will be better, it'll get easier. You just need to adjust. at least that's what she told herself. The days felt slow and dragged its self like a child to its lessons. She made herself smile as if that would help. This was stupid! Nothing had changed, everything would be as calm and carefree as it had always been.

She wasn't sure how many days and nights passed, it could have been one, or it could have been many, but she was fine. Things were getting better, she knew they would. Better? Nothing was wrong in the first place! She was fine. She finished her chores and went back in as night drew near. She sat on the cot holding her cup, calm and relaxed. For the first night in a while, it felt like old times, back when she lived alone and content. Sipping her cup, she thought. She would not go back to Murkwood. She would not change what she had. She didn't need them, they didn't need her, and she was not going to argue with that. She was fine. She was not going to think about them. She was not going to... She was not... She...

"He's not coming back!!!" she yelled, throwing her cup against the wall, sending its contents across the room. She laid her face in her hands. Why did she feel like this? Why did she want him so much?! He was a monster. He was the enemy of her people. He was everything wrong. He was different. He wasn't like all the stuck-up people she grew up with. He was unique. He was... He was gone. Plain and simple. And she would have to learn to live with that.

She wrapped her hand around the necklace. That was all she had to remember that she had ever met another being. She looked down to the necklace, but her eyes went instead to her wrist. She held her hand out, looking over the dark scar that covered her arm. Well, the trinket was almost all she had. Laying back and closing her eyes, she let her mind turn back to the moment before he left. That moment was more than both her wrist or the necklace. It was sweeter than the necklace and hurt more than the scar. But it was gone, and so was he, and nothing could bring him back.