"That is... I don't..." I pulled away from Matriarch Klaeris, not certain how to refuse her. "Your family is wonderful and all, but I need to..."

"Go commune with the tree," Klaeris said. "I understand it's a lot to take it. No one expects you to decide today. I meant only to offer you a certain future, should you want it."

A certain future. Her words continued to ring in my ears as I approached the base of the Elm. All my life I had wanted stability. Certainty. Was this really ...