A Stranger in the Dark

INTRODUCTION

,It has been a long day...
Sleep is but a distant memory...
Rest is a luxury I can ill afford...
I need to keep moving for I cannot allow myself to lose precious time worrying about the past that I cannot change...
I have only myself to blame for this hopeless situation I am in as I was foolish enough to accommodate the deranged thoughts of a perfect stranger...

It all started a while back on a cold night in the eerie city of Merialla ...
I was on my way home after yet another uneventful day, as I turned down the lane that led to my family's estate I was approached by an old woman, who looked as though she had not eaten for a month and had not slept in 3 months...
She asked me in a wispy voice "Kind Mistress, do you by chance have a spare penny for an old woman such as myself ?",I reached in to my pocket and took out a few coins and handed them to the woman...
The delight she felt was evident in her eyes as she slowly reached for the money as if it were going to vanish before her...
I smiled and I as proceeded to depart she grabbed hold of my forearm and said,"You have done me a great favour,and in return I shall do for you a great favour ,I shall read your future"...
Me,being the softhearted fool that I am , agreed to this..and so she guided me up an alley to my left,where she took my hand in hers and began reciting verses in a language I did not know, but still sounded strangely familiar to me ,I tried to hold onto the words as if they were an object and not abstract ..