<<< "Bianca, I want to always do this with you."

"What eat nachos?" Bianca smiles.

"No…well..yes, but I mean….I want to always spend time with each
other, nachos, movies, studying, and just laughing for all our
lives." Maggie blushes.

Bianca swallows looking at Maggie, "I’ll always be here for you,
Maggie. We’ll get old and fat and lazy together eating nachos and
watching cheesy movies." She laughs and blushes as well.

The two girls look at each other and suddenly as if drawn together by
magic hug each other tightly.

Then suddenly, a vision of Maggie lying dead in a puddle of hers and
Bianca’s blood flashes in Bianca’s mind. >>>

"*****!" Bianca shivers falling to her knees as the bird flies up
into the air, "You *****!"

"Time to go." The bird repeats, "I warned you."

"Don’t ever do that again!" she screams into the sky.

She looks one last time into the empty building before trudging on
down the street. She doesn’t bother with the alleys anymore. What
will anyone say to her? Nothing. Most people probably wouldn’t even
notice her. She starts the trek back to Myrtle’s to wait out the
day. She feels the bird close with her, but not in sight. That is
just as well at the moment after what it did to her. She looks up
and around at the buildings she is now in front of. She recognizes
them as familiar. She reads the huge sign across the front glass of
one. Enchantment.

"Mother," is the only word that escapes her lips.

She hears a horn blowing and it pulls her attention to the street
where she sees a tall figure trying to hurry across in front of
traffic. She recognizes this figure as someone she was just getting
close to. She isn’t going to make it in time.

"Good deeds aren’t in the deal." The bird whispers in her mind.

"***** Off!" Bianca runs into the street and picks Kendall up
hurrying back to the curb.

"What the *****?!" Kendall shrieks at the figure that has turned its
back to her, "I…whoa." She whispers as the speeding car goes by.

<<< "Can’t you help them?!" Kendall screeches at the nurses in the
hospital.

She looks to see Maggie and her Binks lying lifeless hooked to
monitors as the doctors pump furiously away at them. She sees
Kendall crying and screaming at the doctors who ignore her as they
try in vain to revive them.

"Not my Binks…not Bianca!" Kendall cries out.>>>

"I…didn’t want you to get hit." Bianca says as she comes to.

"Th-thank you…I don’t know where my mind is today." Kendall stutters
to the strange figure.

"Maybe on the past."

"The past well, its sad today. I hope yours is better." Kendall
sighs.

"It’s a hard day today. It’s hard to lose those you love on a
Holiday." Bianca slips.

"How….did you know?" Kendall asks shocked.

"Your Erica Kane’s oldest. Everyone knows."

"Yes, I guess that’s true. Can I offer you lunch or something?"

"No thank you. Were you going to see your mother?"

"I was going to try. I hope you have a good New Year’s." Kendall
watches as the figure begins to walk away.

"Yes, I enjoyed it the ball very much last year, but I won’t have the
chance to attend it this year. Have a good time." Bianca walks away.

Kendall stares hard after the figure. She never did see the persons
face. She wouldn’t turn around, but something so hauntingly familiar
in her voice makes her hair stand on end. She shrugs uncomfortably
and turns to walk into Enchantment.

"You play dangerously." The bird sends to her.

"I am not playing." She walks up to Myrtle’s porch; "I am not going
to watch her die when I can stop it. I wasn’t playing." She marches
up the stairs and into her old room huddling deep into a dark corner.
TBC….