Chapter 6

The path from house 2 to 3 was winding and longer. Light came from a line of turnips. The gravel hurt Saoirse’s bare feet. “All the other houses were here before we came to this place. The third house is new. It was designed by and constructed for Kerstin. There are four public rooms on the ground floor; our private quarters are on the first floor, and a huge dungeon underneath is for private use as well. Take your time to consider whether you want to enter this house of pain or not. I am not kidding. The only pleasure you will find in this house is through pain. They say love hurts, and that is the truth. Still, if you manage to push past that pain, you’ll both find yourselves more healed than you could have imagined. Aoife has chosen room number 2 for you. Now it’s your choice to go in, or opt out.” The Viking left without a second glance at her.

Aoife was the strong one. The time she broke her arm skiing — a thing she was unwilling to do in the first place, but she went to please Saoirse — she never complained once about the pain. She had been in pain; Saoirse had seen it in her face, and yet she never said a word about it. That kind of bravery was not Saoirse’s thing. While pain didn’t frighten her per se, she didn’t see why she couldn’t give it a voice. If you can share your love, you might as well share your pains, right? Opting out now was NOT a real option. They arrived with the intention of fully immersing themselves in this place. A story in the making, a shared legend brimming with meaning, was one she and Aoife would recount for the rest of their lives. It would grow more beautiful as time went by, the deeds becoming more heroic in the telling; the emotions gaining even deeper resonance. Stopping now would be a theft of that opportunity, a squandering of potential.