Chapter 1.3

She was a child of less than ten years old about to leave for school, when she heard the sound of a dog's cries coming from her back yard. She ran to check on her new puppy, which was lying in the grass.... Her step-father was preparing to take him to the vet and she pleaded to come along but was denied.... She was being told the puppy had distemper and had to be put down. She wanted to see him again first, but it was already too late.

Then she was back in the light-grey space watching the second shard disintegrate. The third shard was already slowing to a stop in front of her before the dust had even cleared. A scene flashed in her mind. She sat on a hardwood floor, surrounded by broken glass. In the kitchen, visible through the open doorway, a man was bandaging a woman's bloody hand.

The memory dissipated as the next shard flashed. A new scene formed in her mind. She was hanging off the side of a water tower, looking down at a woman who appeared to be yelling something, agitated.

There was another flash, and the scene in her mind changed. She was crawling through the ocean surf, and bumped her knee on something. She looked down to see blood in the water.

Flash. She was doing figure 8s on a bicycle in front of a school. A man stood nearby holding a trophy.

Flash. She was posed while holding a teddy bear. Someone took her picture.

Flash. She sat in front of a computer. Microsoft Word lay open upon the monitor.

Flash. She stood behind bars. A woman on the other side was saying something.

Flash. She received a kitten. Flash. She sang karaoke. Flash. Ran toward a fence. Flash. Picked up a puppy. Flash.