I turned to look at the clock by the bedside, it was seven am, I had slept in, getting out of bed, I headed straight for the shower, I would be late for my meeting, with the publisher, if I did not hurry, turning on the water, I stepped inside the stall, the water was, invigorating, I finished and dried off quickly. I chose a lovely floral dress in summer colors of mauve and lilac, I slipped it on, then dried my short curly red hair, I would grab some coffee later.

Driving into town, I thought about my book, I had been working on it for years, finally, I was meeting with a publisher, I had never felt more happy. I arrived on time, the girl at the desk informed me that Sean would be a few minutes late. He finally arrived, everything went well, I would have to meet with Sean again next week, But I did not mind, he was very handsome.

When I got home, it was getting dark, I was to tired to cook, I heated a TV dinner and sat down to eat. I looked up to see a child standing in my kitchen, a little girl, she looked to be around eight years old. I was so startled, I could not speak, she said her name was Maria, after a few minutes, I said, well, what do you want Maria? I want you to see, she said. What do you want me to see? She held out her hand, she was clutching a locket, you have to trust me, if you put on the locket, you will see.

I held the locket for a few minutes before putting it on, as soon as I put on the locket, I could see smoke drifting out back by the fruit trees, Maria said, look closely, can you see the little building that used to be there, yes , I see, said Annie. I saw a big man pouring gas around the building, then he lit a match, throughing it on the building, the building went up in flames, in the shadows, I could see Maria in the window, she was locked inside.

Maria spoke finally, she said, the man was my mother's boyfriend, she was going to marry him, he did not want a child, messing up his life. My mother was away visiting a friend, he decided to get rid of me, my mother never knew what he did, he waited a while, then called for help, it was to late. When my mother came home, she could not take the grief, she had to be put in an institution, she died there, shortly after, Maria, I am so sorry, I said. Its ok, Annie, I wanted you to know what happened.

So, your mother's boyfriend got away with murder, yes you could say that, but, he could not stay away from the alcohol, he was killed in a car accident. Well Maria, why did you want me to know this? because I trust you Annie, besides, you look like my mother.

The phone was ringing, I ran to answer it, Sean was on the other end, he wanted to know if I would have dinner with him the next night, I said yes. I looked around, Maria was gone, she would rest now, I knew that my next book, would be about Maria, the little angel with the golden hair.

Copyright © 2004 lois thurman