1 A flash of light woke her. A clap of thunder followed and made the room tremble.

Sitting up on the bed, Rose saw thunderous clouds floating amongst the shadows. On hearing the flap of wings, she hid under the sheets. If it was a dream, how could she still hear the traffic in the street? The sun shone through the curtains as she awoke next morning, the book she had been reading before she went to sleep lay on the bedside table, while a mark on the dresser made her think of the dream. The sound of footsteps interrupted her thoughts and her daughter Sandra appeared at the bedroom door. Happy birthday, mother, she said. Rose sighed. I dont see whats so marvellous about it. Im a year older. Mother, youre still young. Rose nodded. I hope so. She thought of the dream as she sipped her coffee. A storm couldnt take place in her bedroom. It was impossible. I had a strange dream last night, Rose said. Sandra sighed. I told you not to have that late curry. Rose explained about the thunder in her room, when the windows had been shut and nothing out of the ordinary ever happened in their house. Mother, Sandra said. Have you been smoking again? Rose shook her head. She had not touched a cigarette for the last few months. Sandra thought the smudge on the table had been there all the time but her mother had not noticed it. It must have been a fireball, Rose said.

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2 Mother, you cant have a fireball in your bedroom. Rose searched around the room. I also heard a bird flapping around me. You must have dreamt it, said Sandra. Rose looked under the bed and behind the wardrobe, as if the demon might be hiding there. Mum, Sandra said. remember? Rose nodded. I feel two thousand years old. You exaggerate, Sandra said. Once you get to my age, the days turn into years in a moment. She looked at some pictures on the table, her eyes looking wet or it must have been that new mascara she had forgotten to take off the night before. Im taking you somewhere special, Sandra said. I dont want a discotheque. Sandra smiled. It wont be anything like that. On opening the wardrobe, Rose found the tunic she had worn on a midsummer gathering, as the elders told them of the joys of spring and everyone sang songs about the weather. It suits you, Sandra said. Rose nodded. I remember the occasion. She tried it on by the mirror, whilst remembering a party in another world, the noises of the street intruding in her thoughts of life in another dimension. Have you made a blind date for me? she asked her daughter. You promised to go out with me today. Cant you

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3 No, mother. Where are we going then? Its a surprise. Rose thought of her dream, the millennium wheel looking back at her from some of the pictures her daughter must have left in the table, as the memories kept on flowing. Then she saw another picture of a building she had seen on a day, lost in her past. I have been there, she said. Our friends and neighbours appeared amidst popping corks and bursting balloons. It was your birthday. I know. Someone stood amidst the mayhem, his eyes looking greyer than the shirt he must have bought in Marks and Spencer, although his name eluded her. We must have met in another world, she said. Who? The stranger in the party. That was a surprise, Sandra said. Rose had walked hand in hand with him by the shores of a sea, the summer wind refreshing their faces, before going back to the gathering by the stones. The clock on the wall interrupted her thoughts by sticking the time. You never saw him again, Sandra said. He left at midnight but forgot something, Rose waved a pendant in the air. She touched the figures etched in the surface, similar to the medallions she had seen in a lost world, coming to her mind from the abyss of time.

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4 Sandra, she said. Do you know who he is? I thought he knew you, Sandra said. I must have met him in a party by the stones, Rose said. What stones? It had to be during the celebrations. You confuse me, Sandra said. Rose moved down the house, followed by her daughter, before looking for a few things she kept in the wardrobe, amidst the dust of the ages, some spiders running away from her hands frightened her. Mother, Sandra called. What are you doing? Ive remembered, Rose whispered. She knelt by a pendant on the floor, like an offering to the Gods, because nature celebrated the longest day by dressing itself in green leaves and the birds came back from other lands. Happy solstice birthday, Sandra said. Rose smiled. The joys of summer. Ill get your presents. She looked in a few drawers, disturbing the dust she had forgotten to clean that morning. Ive dreamt the eagle, Rose said. You did last night. I have really seen it. Mother...

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5 Taking a spear out of a bag, Rose placed it on the floor where it shone under the lights, making her daughter shudder. Ive remembered, Sandra said. You have to, Rose said. My name is in the pendant. Welcome back Boudicca, Sandra said. Rose sighed. I chose the fate of a warrior and queendeath at my own hand. The end

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