They say though, that Death is lonelier than most people on account of his job. It's not that he's hideous. As I mentioned earlier, he has dark eyes and dark hair. You tell me, but milaya, that's not very precise, and I ask you to describe the shadow behind your eyelids, or the song the stars perform for the sky, or the scent of the innermost heart of a rose. Ah, you shake your head. So it is, malyutka, so it is that he has the power of a most fleeting and terrible beauty. If you really looked at Death, he would take your breath away.

Oh, he must be so lonely, you say. No one to see him, or talk to him, or keep him company. Now, I will tell you a secret: Once in a while, an exceptional girl manages to stare Death in the face without flinching. I will tell you how to make the most of the experience. It helps greatly if your name is Vasilisa. Is it? No? Maybe you can change your name; Vasilisas always find something precious after meeting Death. They are brave, wise, and beautiful, and like to go on a quest for a treasure, they tell me, that is hidden in a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest, which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan in the ocean.

Now, I tell you another secret, malyutka, these oh-so-exceptional girls rarely start out brave and wise or even truly beautiful. A beautiful face with skin the colour of fresh milk or coffee is easy if you grow up in a palace with people to feed you and keep you clean. But if you want eyes full of the secret dreams of forests, if you want a heart stronger than Baba Yaga's iron teeth, and a mind quicker than the North Wind's fingers, then you must be like a Vasilisa and journey through the lands that are in Death's domain.

Yes, the journey is long, the journey is difficult, and sometimes, a Vasilisa may slide off her horse and wake to find herself lost. Quite usually, it happens in a land called Sorrow that is overrun by howling wolves, and turns hair white. A Vasilisa may be tempted to join the wolves, howl her pain, and eat people up; but because she is a Vasilisa and not a wolf, she will bravely soldier on.  Often, she finds a house with a friend to feed her and point her on her way, and this help, a Vasilisa will graciously accept. And so the wearisome journey goes on and on until she reaches Buyan in the ocean.

Now, malyutka, what do you think is hidden in the needle?

I tell you a secret: it is Death's own death. It is the heart of Death itself. Once you hold it in your hands, you will no longer fear Death. What does it look like? I thought you would be impressed with the secret, but I see that you are a not easily impressed malyutka. It looks like a mirror of clear water suspended as a drop in the eye of the needle. And if you look into it, as everyone inevitably does, the heart of Death will show you exactly what you are. But because you are as a Vasilisa, it will show you someone brave and wise and beautiful, for this is what you have become journeying through the lands. And this is the point that the girls look up and Death smiles at them.

Do they scream or faint? If you are a Vasilisa, you will not do so. For shame, malyutka. No, the blade of Death's smile has no effect on a heart that has journeyed through his lands and become as strong as Baba Yaga's iron teeth. And the depths of his eyes will mirror the secrets in yours.

If you are a Vasilisa, you will take Death's hands and he will lead you in a dance. It has no name you know of, malyutka, but its rhythm sounds like life and new beginnings. I am thinking that it will remind you of your first breath, or the first surprise of a sunrise, when the world was young to you instead of unfathomably old.

You ask me how I know all this. You want to believe me. So I tell you my final secret, malyutka, come closer: You see, Death doesn't only take away, he makes what you already have even more precious.