After some quick tidying, they found themselves on the couch with a steaming cup each.

Karin had a lot of questions. On one hand, they could, and probably even should wait until later. Perhaps a few days, after they had properly gotten to know each other. On the other hand, it wasn't necessarily a good idea to postpone it. She was also curious about what Mina wanted to share.

Looking at her, she struggled with knowing how to think of her. She looked young, but acted almost like an adult. Her face still retained a bit of childishness. As for her clothes, they spoke more of a lack of resources than anything else.

Was she mature for age, or was this merely how she'd learned to cope with her situation?

Right now, she didn't seem all that mature. She sat silent, fiddling with her cup, clearly struggling mentally with something. Probably the thing she wanted to talk to Karin about. Maybe it was better if she took the initiative to ease her into the conversation?

"Mina, I want to ask you some questions. I don't want to pressure you, though. Only answer if you are comfortable with it, okay?"

"I'll let you know, don't worry," Mina smiled. "I think I know what you want to ask. You're curious about my background, right?"

Karin nodded. It was probably not very hard to guess. Either that, or it was the exact topic she was struggling to breach.

"I don't mind telling you everything I know. I'm just... concerned you won't believe me. There are parts of the story that defy all normal logic. I would have said it was impossible myself, had I not lived through... ehm, poor choice of words... experienced it, myself."

Karin raised an eyebrow. She was extremely curious now.

Mina took a sip of tea, and a deep breath.

"As far as I know, I didn't exist until you brought Martin to Ms. Redwax."

Wait, what? Was this some sort of metaphor?

"Ms. Redwax gave him a choice. She'd help him if he agreed to some sort of magic deal. Before that, he hadn't believed in magic. He agreed, and she killed him and created me. At least I think that's what happened."

Wow. Karin didn't know what to say. She had no trouble believing the magic part. But was Ms. Redwax seriously powerful enough to pull something like that off? She thought the witch was a witch of the… lesser sort.

“So, if I understand you correctly… you are Martin?”

“That’s a good question. The short answer is no. I think.”

She looked thoughtful.

"As for the longer answer: I certainly don't feel like Martin. I don't act like him. Case in point," she gestured to her chest, "I'm fairly certain he would have had some reaction if he got turned into a girl. He's dead and gone now, and I have no particular feelings regarding him or his life. Sucks that he is dead, I guess, but the same can be said for everyone else who has ever died. Except maybe Hitler."

She took another sip of her tea.

"As for who I am; good question. I don't have any memory prior to standing before Ms. Redwax. What I have is echoes of Martin's memories, but they don't mean anything to me. As in, yes, I remember Martin's daughters, and I can with absolutely certainty say he loved them. But to me? They're just strangers. Like actors in a movie I saw once. It may be because of the deal Martin accepted."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

She repeated the exact phrases the witch had told Martin.

"Ms. Redwax's offer was a new life, as opposed to healing or something along those lines. Maybe that makes me a reincarnation of Martin? It would make as much sense at anything else, at this point."

Karin struggled to wrap her head around it. She had a strong feeling the girl was telling the truth. Or at least what she believed to be the truth.

“So, you are not Martin, and you have no memories prior to today. Does that make you a blank slate?”

“No, at least not in the way I'd define a blank slate. I have opinions. I think Star Wars is silly, pistachio ice cream is underrated, and Pachelbel's Canon is boring unless remixed.”

Karin had no opinion on the last two statements, but the first? Star Wars wasn't silly, it was exciting. Unless Mina was talking about the prequels or even the newest sequels, in case maybe... She hadn't actually watched the last. She'd heard so many negative things about them that… wait, she was getting way off track here.

"Let me ask you a different question. Do you have access to all of Martin's memories?"

Mina needed a moment to consider this.

"If you are asking if I remember everything Martin experienced, the answer is definitely not. For example, I can't tell you exactly what he had for dinner two weeks ago. But all as in everything he would have been able to recall himself? Possibly. Hard to know unless we could somehow compare memories."

She paused, looking very thoughtful.

"It might seem like many of the memories I can recall had emotional significance to him. Like the time he won a music contest at the age of ten. A scene from his childhood where he felt wronged because he got punished for something that wasn't his fault. Plenty of embarrassing moments; it seems he just couldn't forget those."

Karin could attest that this was not a unique phenomena to Martin.

"I find this somewhat ironic that I can't feel anything from these moments. They were certainly embarrassing to him, but to me, they're just ... whatever. I have no mental connection to them. It wouldn't surprise me if they fade over time."

She leaned in, with a conspiratorial grin.

"Speaking of memories, do you want to hear one related to you?"

Karin was a bit taken back. “Sure?”

“Did you know he was in love with you in primary school? Only, he didn’t know what to do about it, so he did what boys do to get attention: he teased you instead. Kids are stupid. Adults too, for that matter.”

Karin blinked.

“Are you certain? I mean, I never noticed anything like that.”

“Maybe ‘in love with’ is a bit too strong way to describe it. Sweet on? Interested in? There were several other girls too, such as Elizabeth.”

“Really? Oh my.”

She tried to think of a hypothetical scenario in which he’d asked for a date, or something. It was impossible to imagine. She didn’t hate him or anything, but neither did she like him. He was just … a bit dull? Wait, didn’t she feel different earlier today?

“You seem to have something on your mind?” Mina interrupted her train of thought.

“Yes. You know that condition you mentioned, with everyone else’s feelings about Martin? I wonder if that’s what I’m experiencing. I … helped him out earlier, but right now it just seems inconceivable that I would go out of my way to do it.”

“Maybe? I didn’t feel anything about the man when I was first... born? Created? Formed? Something. I think I have some feelings regarding him now, though. Not much, but more than just a complete void. Maybe feelings that appeared after the deal was made are unaffected? Not that it’ll do him much good now.”

Karin could do nothing but nod.

Mina’s face blossomed into a relieved smile. “Anyway, you are far more accepting than I feared and expected.”

“Yes, I …” She stopped herself. D’oh, she almost made a huge blunder there. Kind of did, really.

There was no way to continue the conversation without heading into deep, murky waters. She needed to talk to Brittney and Camille and figure out how to deal with this, without bringing unnecessary trouble to Mina. Even knowing it might be Martin reincarnated, she still found herself strongly caring for Mina.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to talk more later. I have work to do now. A pair of twins will be here shortly to take a ride. While they can saddle the horses, they need an adult to check that everything is fine. Meanwhile, you are in dire need of clothes. My bedroom is up the stairs on the left. Feel free to check out my wardrobe. I know we’re not the same size, but maybe you can find something there that you can use?”

Mina nodded. Thankfully, she did not ask more regarding Karin’s willingness to accept everything.