When I Come Again

He came back with everything he promised. It was already too late. When I Come Again is a prize-winning historical fiction short story by New Zealand writer p.d.r. Lindsay, set in Bronze Age northern Europe among peat lakes, marsh villages, and the ancient rites of the goddess Nerthus. Becan left his village as a young man with nothing to offer but a promise and four years to make good on it. Laila's father laughed at him.
The village expected him to fail. Instead he traded his way along the great rivers, learned from Roman merchants, gathered ponies and silver and small careful wealth, and sent Laila a new feather every year to count down the seasons until his return. Now the geese are flying south and Becan is almost home, singing a soldier's love song under his breath, planning the house he will build and the life they will share.
What he finds when he crosses the causeway will take everything from him. And what he does next will define the man he has become. Perfect for readers who love:- Literary historical fiction and ancient world short stories - Bronze Age and Iron Age historical settings - Stories set in pre-Roman northern Europe and Scandinavia - Short reads with emotional depth and strong characters - Historical fiction featuring ancient religion, ritual, and daily life Rich with period detail, told in a voice as clean and unhurried as the landscape it describes, When I Come Again is a story about the cruelty of communities, the stubbornness of love, and the small, brave acts that make an ordinary life worth living.
It is historical fiction at its finest, spare, honest, and deeply felt. A prize-winning short story from one of New Zealand's most accomplished independent writersPublished by Writer's Choice, a writers' publishing collective dedicated to quality fiction.