1 Deborah's Sting

An old beat-up and badly damaged neon green van, wheezed as it drove past. The van makes a haphazard stop amidst an idyllic red brick home near a wooded town. Its door slides open with a shudder, and out steps a frail-looking and weathered  woman with pruned skin and bags under her restless eyes. Her wrinkled skin glistened with sweat and exhaustion.  Her brow is creased with worry lines, and her gait is slow and  a limp was visible even from a distance. She takes in the surrounding scenery. A rustling from across the street catches her attention, and she turns to see a dark-skinned woman, with slick dark black hair and a friendly face. The woman is waving her  arms, eagerly beckoning her over.

"Deborah?!" The beautifully glowing dark skin woman was surprised to see such a familiar face. 

"Aaliyah!" Deborah cries out, as she makes her way to her friend's balcony. 

"Things haven't been the same in the little time you've been gone!" Aaliyah exclaims. "Oh, how I missed you Deborah!"  Her voice is filled with warmth and then concern, as she scrutinizes Deborah. She can see that something's off with her friend's appearance. Her car is a wreck, and Deborah seems exhausted and barely able to stand without support. 

"Are you okay?" Aaliyah asks, worry begins creasing her brow. "You stay where you are, sweet girl. I'll be right over," Aaliyah instructs Deborah. 

Deborah sat down heavily on her porch bench. Moments later, Aaliyah reemerges, holding a steaming mug of hot cocoa and a cozy blanket. "Just sit down and tell me everything," Aaliyah says, wrapping the blanket around Deborah's shoulders. "Did Juniper stay in Florida like she wanted to?"

Deborah's eyes widened in shock. "She wanted to stay in Florida?" Deborah asks, incredulously.

  "Well, yeah," Aaliyah responds, tightening the blanket's embrace around her friend. "I thought you knew that. If she's not there, where is she?"

Deborah let out a deep sigh. She felt the pent up emotions bubble to the surface. "I guess you could say she did stay in Florida," she says, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Aaliyah" She murmured, "I don't even know where to start…"