Deep within the woods, a good five miles east of Raskile Bridge, there is a clearing known as Soldier’s Rest. No-one knows why it’s called that, but it is believed the name came about sometime during the winter war. For most of the year, there is nothing unusual about the clearing whatsoever, save perhaps that no tree ever seems to sprout there. But right at the end of winter, the clearing briefly becomes downright spectacular. Every single year, just as winter changes into spring, the clearing is always covered in snowdrops, the little plants forming a veritable mattress of green leaves and white teardrop-shaped buds. The fragile white blossoms always seem to bloom at least a week earlier here than anywhere else, as though they feel spring simply can’t come fast enough.