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98 Amit Bobrov
it’s best to let the past die out,” he replied thoughtfully.
“I’d like to hear it nonetheless, if you’re willing,” I replied, now

eager and intrigued.
“Well, boyo, there’s seem no stopping you … very well then …
I originally came from a land further to the north ...” he began,
and I listened carefully, making myself as comfortable as I could.
“People were different there, taller and stronger than any
here. We were a warrior nation, though few of us remain
today. I wasn’t much of a warrior compared to my brethren. It
wasn’t that I lacked skill, but I lacked interest. My concerns lay
elsewhere, in things far more tender and pleasurable,” he said,

and winked at me. I didn’t get whatever he was hinting at and
my face remained blank.
“I mean to say, Boyo, is that I was far more interested in
women than I was in wars. I courted a young lady by the name
of Lianna, and she indeed was fair. Raven-haired, clever green
eyes, and a sharp mind. We spend many an evening — after
doing our chores, debating and arguing all the facts of life, and

every time, boyo, every time she left me confused, discouraged,
miserable, and longing for more. She had something to say
about everything, and most often it was radical, revolutionary,
bittersweet, and demanded rumination. I fell in love with her,
and though she would have said my affection was towards her
flesh and not her spirit, this was not the case, no!” He said, and
his eyes took a nostalgic gleam.
“As fate would have it, I was called to war before I had the
chance to propose marriage. I had saved a fortune to pay her

father for the privilege of her hand, and he, a sharp, shrewd,
and greedy man, knew of my affections, and would demand no
less than everything I owned. I had managed to raise enough
gold and jewels to purchase her, yet as the fates would have it, I