A reunion

The uniformed militiaman was less than nothing. A weak-willed simpleton whose neck snapped like a twig in my grasp. At least he provided me with a meal, sating my thirst for the evening before I discarded his lifeless desiccated body into the harbour. However, I cannot even thank him for that. He was keeping me from my beloved. I knew exactly where she was though. I could sense her, feel her heat, smell her, hear her. She was like a great beacon calling to me, and I would never lose her again. I stepped carefully into view suddenly seeing she who I had been seeking for centuries.

“Allatu”, I said simply and held my hand out, but was surprized to see her shrink back, away from me. She did not know who I was!

Could it be?

I stepped back carefully and reached out with my mind to calm her down, calling her to follow me. Moments later she slid elegantly out of the car as lithe and graceful as she had been in the courts of Kashmir. My heart if it could still beat would have paused. She was beauty incarnate. She was my twin. She was... something was wrong. I sensed her thoughts. They were not those of Allatu. Or they were, but through some sort of filter. Somehow, this was not quite the Allatu I knew and loved, and yet she was. She had been reborn!

Quickly, I must get her from here and restore her to the glory that she once was.