Rose looked in wonder at the two people standing in front of her. The woman was pretty, petite, and dark. She looked nothing like Rose. The man was taller, not by much, with light skin but dark hair and eyes. He also looked nothing like Rose.
"They don't look how I imagined, but somehow perfect," she thought to herself. Then when she looked carefully she could see that she had her mother's mouth, ears and nose. And she had her father's eyes. For a long time all she did was look at them. They were waiting for her to speak.
"You can't be here," she finally whispered.
"Rose, dear, where do you think you are? Why do you think this place is called the spirit world?" her mother asked gently. Rose had no answer for that. Mistress Yaga told her over and over again that impossible things were possible in this place. Then something hit her.
"How do I know you are really my parents? What if you're some sort of beasts trying to trick me?" she asked accusingly. Apparently they had been ready for this question.
"If you will come here and take our hands we can prove what we say is true," the man said. Though her mind raced with thoughts of treachery and traps she couldn't help herself. Quickly she was in front of them. The two each held out a hand to her. She could only assume that she was to take them. She could never have imagined what would happen when she did.
It was as if she had traveled back in time. Like she could remember everything that had ever happened to her. All the way back to her being born. Only it wasn't her looking out, it was her parents looking at her. They were the memories that her parents had of her. She watched herself being born, then felt the flood of emotions that overwhelmed her mother and father. She watched from her father's eyes as her mother wrapped her in swaddling clothes. Then she watched from her mother's eyes as her father rocked her to sleep. But no matter what they were doing she always felt tremendous love. Then after all that bliss, she saw Mistress Yaga. She watched, just as her mother had done, as her father fell on the floor in agony.
Rose couldn't take it any longer. She staggered away as she released her parents' hands. She knew now that they were truly her parents. No demon could fake that love. She was breathing heavily and trying to keep from crying. Her emotions always showed on her face. Mistress Yaga said it was a weakness, not a good thing for a healer or a business woman. At the thought of Mistress Yaga shock hit her. In the memory it looked as if Mistress Yaga had caused her father's pain.
"You are… you must be," Rose whispered. She was looking down at her shoes. Then quickly she looked up.
"May I hug you?" she asked hopefully knowing perfectly well that she sounded more than a little pitiful. That question set her parents off and she was in their arms in an instant. Finally she could no longer keep her eyes dry. She was crying, so was her mother and her father didn't look far off either.
Rose didn't know how long they stayed like that, but finally they parted.
"Mother?" Rose asked slowly turning the cherished word over in her mouth, "What happened to you? It looked as if Mistress Yaga hurt Father,". At the mention of Mistress Yaga her mother frowned and her father's face darkened.
"Come sit with us dear one," her mother said sweetly, "we will tell you how we lost you,".