“Nieva” Her mother. The one person that had given her life…the one person that she knew nothing about…the one who was supposed to be the most important being in her life. A complete stranger to her, a phantom with nothing but a name.

“Nieva” The name echoed in her mind relentlessly. Up until now she had known nothing about the identity of her progenitor…It had belonged to the slippery dark passages of a past no one spoke off. The people of the village surrounding the old mansion she inhabited, always rushed past her, never stopped to talk or greet, as if she was invisible, and almost never did anyone pass near the house mansion. Only in emergencies, such as the need of a doctor was someone summoned to the house. They didn’t have friends or relatives and therefore no visits or guests. The most common outsider face Verena had seen with rare regularity was that of the old mail man that seldom came by… Verena hardly ever got post. It was only her and Deltrice in the big stone house. Only her and the maid within the cold stone walls, only them in the large cavernous rooms…and they barely occupied its space.

“Nieva” Her existence had always been a mystery and Verena had never asked herself about her mother. As far as she could remember no one around her had mentioned the word: Mother…and so she simply accepted such thing didn’t exist for her.

The letter had been such a revelation…her mother’s name now emerged from nothingness. Verena had never known her name before. And now it came upon her like a reality, something alive or awakening in her soul. “Neiva” The name had an icy, cool feel to it, but also a hint of white purity and wholesomeness.

- Neiva – the maid had uttered after reading the letter – yes, that was your mother’s name miss – adopting a pensive look she continued - I remember now, I had only heard it before a fair few times, a couple of years before your birth. The town folk spoke of her, she was an orphan herself that lived with her aunt, or so I heard them say.

- Don’t you remember anything else from her? Do you know of anyone who knew her well? – The eagerness in her eyes was also visible in every line of her face; all here gestures unveiled an uncontrollable display of emotion.

-Well…- the maid began, her expression becoming taut – As I said my young lady, I was far too young to remember anything well and I had just come into this town looking for work, I didn’t know anybody. I saw your mother a couple of times, a ravishing beauty she was, she had an angelic aura that could be witnessed in her virginal grace of movement. Oh, but she had such a fire in her eyes, such a spark…it was daunting, even menacing at times…the same spark I found in your eyes, when I first held you as a baby, no one needed to tell me that she was your mother, I knew right then you were her daughter…- she paused and closed her eyes, her features showed tiredness, as if what she had narrated had caused her much physical exhaustion.

But Verena’s curiosity had been barely fed, there were many gaps in that story, a thousand questions ran through her mind. This was but the beginning to explain18 years of her life during which she had completely ignored her precedence. It was time to begin dismantling the mystery that hid the reason of her living alone in an old house with the only company of her nanny. She didn’t know where to begin inquiring, so many things, and so many questions unanswered…she felt overwhelmed by them. Her nerves had her fingers fiddling constantly with the skirt of her night gown. She stood up and started pacing the room, taking long strides and deep breaths.

- Deltrice – she said in a quivering voice, nerves wracking her composure – Del, how did you find me? Who made you responsible for taking care of me? And…what happened to my mum? – She had almost cried this last sentence out, her eyes wide open holding back tears that were uncalled for.

- Now, now miss, calm down. I understand this might affect you and…- she gave a deep long sigh – I knew this day would come, but I always knew I wouldn’t be able to provide you with all the answers. I half-hoped you were able to find happiness in your own, as you grew up…and that all your past remained buried…where it couldn’t hurt…

- Don’t pity me Deltrice. Please, you know that…anyway, I don’t have much to live for.

- Don’t talk like that miss! – the maid said alarmed, a worried expression darkening her eyes – you do have much to live for, you’re very young, what makes you think like that?

- Are you honestly asking me that? Deltrice, please look around me, there’s nothing but wilderness, shadows, loneliness and darkness…I’ve been trapped in this place all my life, it’s all I know…and it doesn’t make me happy…how can a place like this inspire you to anything? How can I find the slightest joy when all that surrounds me is so…dead?

The maid looked taken aback. Verena wasn’t surprised at her reaction, she had never, not once talked of her loathing of the place in which they lived, never talked of her painful loneliness and the complete emptiness she always felt. Around her maid, her life seemed to brighten up a little and in her presence she acted the closest to happy she had ever been. Never did she moan about her internal distress, she did not ever talk of her suffering to Deltrice, never wanting to worry her the slightest. Not her. Not the being that radiated cheerfulness, not the one kind thing among all the unanimated ones.

So it was no surprise these words caused a shock to Deltrice. Innocent Deltrice; unable to detect an ounce of malice in anything that surrounded her. Ingenuous Deltrice; never aware of any dark element that might lie beneath a pleasant surface.

Recovering from her shock, the maid started to say, very slowly, as if carefully choosing her words:

– I know your past is a troubled one miss, and I only avoided it so that you never had to suffer from it, but also because I have very few information of it. What I know is very little, and sadly I never got to exchange words with your mother...

- So you never spoke to her? – interrupted Verena, clear disappointment showing in her face – But then… - she seemed lost – how did you come to…?

- I came to have you, my dear, when my elder brother gave me you to take care of…- she made a painfully long pause in which she seemed to gather her thoughts together, looking for the better way to deliver such a revelation piece. Verena stopped in her tracks, cold sweat running down her spine and ice freezing her hands, all her attention and senses sharpened as the mystery surrounding her coming into the world was about to be revealed.