The end of winter was slow in coming, and a thick layer of wet slush covered the ground. The sun was concealed behind heavy clouds, and a light drizzle of rain mixed with snow had been falling without end for the last week. The bare, dark branches of the trees stood as a harsh reminder of the barrenness of winter, and even the indomitable evergreens drooped sulkily. On the ground lay Oskar Harju, a soldier who was far from old, but who hadn’t felt young for quite some time. His face was lined from worry and weather and his hands shaky from constant struggles with frostbite. His body was lined with bruises and scars, and he hadn’t been able to walk quite right since he took a bullet in the leg during the Raskile assault. None of that mattered anymore, though. He laid face-first on the ground, covered in mud and blood, struggling just to keep breathing. On the edge of the clearing lay almost thirty bodies, the majority of a force sent to ambush his unit as they retreated. He doubted the few who made it past him would be that much of a threat, so he supposed losing a single man wouldn’t be that hefty of a price to pay. Shame he was the one who had to pay it. He heard a distressed gasp from the edge of the clearing, and he couldn’t help but smile despite everything. With an effort of will he managed to turn over to lie on his back, just in time to see the pale lady rushing over to his side. “Ah, my lady. I was hoping…” Great rasping coughs shook his body, and he spat up the blood that had been blocking his throat with impatient annoyance. “I was hoping I might see you one last time.” She got down on her knees in the mud and pulled him up, cradling him against her chest. “My soldier… Oh, my poor soldier.” He noted idly that the mixture of mud and blood covering his front was staining her pristine white furs with ugly reddish-brown stains. It seemed a shame. “My lady…” ”Is there anything I can do for you? Please, just… Anything!” “I was rather hoping…” He drew a deep, shuddering breath, trying to ignore the heavy wetness of blood filling his lungs. “Hoping you would sing to me… One last time.” The pale lady seemed to calm herself, her tears unshed in the corners of her eyes. “Of course, my soldier. Of course I’ll sing for you.” And she sang. It was a song of longing and need. A song about waiting for a spring that you knew you would never get to see. A song about wanting all the impossible things you could never have. Oskar could feel that it was her song. Her own words, sung straight from the heart. Every mournful word held such emotion he felt she must have carried this song inside her for a thousand years. And now, it was his song as well. Their song. Two lonely souls, together longing for the spring they would never see and the love they had lost before they truly found it. As the last trembling notes faded to silence, Oskar closed his eyes…