And yet, I will think of the future," Vasya retorted. "To remind me that the present is not forever. One day I may see my brother Alyosha again, and my sister Irina. I might have a home of my own, a place and a purpose, a victory. What is the present without the future?

But Vasya never saw them when she was looking for them. They moved between one breath and the next, between one blink and another."- The Girl in the Tower

The cold embrace of the winter god is not for mortal maidens.

It is easy to die,' replied the bannik. 'Harder to live. Do not forget me Vasilisa Petrovna.