Chapter 1 –

Dana sat on the park bench across from The Planet lost in thought.  She still wasn’t sure what she was doing here.  So much time had passed and so much had happened.  Dana began to think about a few weeks ago and what led her to this bench today.

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(Dana and Howie’s Condo – 4 Weeks Earlier)

“Hey Dana.”  Howie called out as he entered the condo.  “I brought your mail from mom and dad’s and you have something out of the ordinary.”  Howie sat on the sofa and waited for his sister to join him.

“What?”  Dana emerged from the kitchen still drying her hands from washing dishes.  She sat next to Howie and began to flip through her mail.  Same as usual, credit card offers and the occasional alumni news from college.  Dana had been sharing a condo with her brother for almost a year now and she still received junk mail at her parent’s home on a regular basis.  Sharon never threw away any mail delivered to her home for her children and Howie always felt the need to bring it home and announce that he had mail whenever he went to see their parents.  “I thought you said I had something out of the ordinary?”  Dana asked looking over at her brother.

“You do.”  Howie reached into his pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope addressed to Dana.  There was no return address on the front of the envelope so Dana flipped it over and froze.  “I thought it was just some more alumni bullshit at first.  Then I realized the address was on the back and UCLA always has their logo on the front.”  Dana continued staring at the envelope in silence with countless thoughts running through her head.  Howie sensed his sisters’ discomfort, but his curiosity was driving him crazy and decided to proceed with caution instead of telling her to just rip the mysterious envelope open already.  “Do you recognize the address?” 

Dana shook her head.  She wanted to speak and knew she should say something before her brother began to flip out, yet she couldn’t find her voice.  She felt like she had been punched in the stomach.  She snapped out of her state of shock when she heard Howie ask if she was going to open the envelope.  “I don’t know.  I guess I should.”  The flash of worry that crossed Dana’s face did not go unnoticed to her brother.  Slowly she opened the envelope, terrified of its contents.  Dana held her breath when she realized the envelope held a card inside.  She pulled the card out and flipped it over to read the front.  Her heart began to race when she read the front ‘You Are Invited.’  Dana hesitantly opened the card and let out a long sigh when she read the inside.