Stephanie was enjoying her walk as she traversed the city that she had found herself in.

Earlier that year, she and her sister were together in a group filled with people with extreme chemical sensitivity. Jenny was the one with the sensitivity but she had gone along with her – it was her sister, after all and she did everything with her.

The headaches she had, however, had gotten too much and she had sought an outside medical doctor. Which was a big no-no in the group.

Stephanie had been stunned when Fargood had summarily kicked her out for not following the groups' mandates. And then she had been further stunned when Jenny had stayed even as she left.

It had been sad, but inevitable. Something had told her that she and Jenny would be parted.

She still talked to her sister but the group was making ready for their trip to … wherever. All Stephanie had known was that the rift would be permanent. That's why she hadn't fought it.

Her grandmother's tarot cards had told her that she had to leave but Jenny would not. And despite her grief, she had finally accepted it. And because she couldn't be around without nagging her sister, Stephanie had started traveling.

And so she had ended up here: Chicago, Illinois.

Why Chicago? Sheer chance. Or at least that's what she told people if anyone asked. She knew, however, there was always a reason that you ended up where you were.

Stephanie paused in her walk and looked up in the sky. And then she closed them and took a deep breath through her nose. She held it for a moment and then slowly let it out. As soon as that was done she looked in a random direction and saw … a mall?

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and then started walking.

As far as she could tell, it was the standard, American, urban mall: A bunch of stores and other random things inside a temperature-controlled building. As she approached the door, she saw a sign: Inuksuk Dedication, 2:00.

Inuksuk? What was that? She read more details. "… gift to the City of Chicago … Dominion of Canada … Inuit Inuksuk … residents and mall visitors welcome …." She didn't know what an Inuksuk was but it sounded right up her alley.

Stephanie walked into the mall and followed the signs. And there in the center of the mall, at the main concourse, was a mass of stones. Looking up, she smiled as she saw the shape of a man in the stones. It was as if someone took a bunch of large stones and deliberately arranged them to look human-like.

On one side of the stone statute was a seating area, as though people could eat or rest nearby.

Suddenly, she heard a shout and then saw a man dressed in red chasing after another man. The man being chased held a woman's purse. The man behind was in some type of uniform.

Even as the man in red caught the man running with the purse, the chaos was interrupted by a scream. She looked and there were two kids – kids to her, she was getting up there – two kids in their twenties looking down at a man laying on the ground.

And then there were cops all over.

She had grown up in Brooklyn New York – she knew how crimes in big cities went. And so she waited where she was until a uniformed man came by. "You see anything?"

"I saw the guy in red …"

"The Mountie?"

"I suppose. He was running after a guy with a purse, caught him even, and then I heard the scream. There's a young couple, looking down at a man. And three people over there were walking toward them while one of them, spiky hair blond, was holding a gun out."

"Those three?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He sighed. "Can you write your name and address?"

"My name? Sure. Address? I've traveling."

"Where from?"

"Lived in DC. Originally from Brooklyn." She finished writing her address and handed the notebook back.

"Okay." The cop sighed again. "We didn't get anything different from you than anyone else. We probably won't need a formal statement but if you could wait? Once you're outta here, you're out. So I'd rather get my boss to sign off."

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

She sat on a bench looked around. Suddenly, she had a white canine interrupting her. She looked down at the dog. Actually, it looked like a wolf. "Hello," she sad to it. The dog huffed at her. "Where did you come from?" The dog rolled its head and then looked back at her. She looked in that direction and the guy in red, the Mountie, and the guy who had been holding the gun on the couple were walking over. "This your wolf?" she asked the Mountie. That made sense to her.

"Yes. Well, more accurately he is not my wolf, he is his own wolf. But he has been my companion for a several years."

She made the face which mirrored her words. "That makes sense."

The guy with the blond hair said, "That made sense to you?" He didn't sound like he believed it.

"What's not to make sense? It's a wolf! I mean – where's a wolf gonna come from? Up north probably. He's from Canada, the wolf's from Canada, the two are here, at the same time in a Chicago Mall: The two are probably friends – or at least friendly companions."

The American rolled his eyes. "Anyway. Patrol cop said you answered his question."

"He asked me what I saw. Of course I answered," Stephanie said. She looked at the Mountie. "What's he want?" She motioned toward the wolf.

"His name is Diefenbaker. He normally approaches individuals with food."

"He wants my cookie?" The wolf yipped.

"You need to stop pestering complete strangers for their food." The Mountie was pronouncing precisely.

"Why you talking like that? He deaf or something?"

The Mountie sighed. "Yes."

"Oh." She looked at the wolf and spoke precisely. "My cookie is a treat for later. Do you really need the cookie?" The wolf huffed. "So it's not life or death. But you're hungry." The wolf gave a whine/bark. "We'll share." The wolf yipped again.

She glanced at the Mountie who was staring at her and pulling on his ear, confusion obvious. The cop - she assumed a detective - was just confused. "What? It's not that hard!"

The Mountie opened his mouth, closed it, and then looked at the American, who spoke. "I don't want to know, Fraser. But the cop said you saw him running after the pursethief? And then the scream?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

The American looked at her. "So you didn't see the murder?"

"No. I didn't say I did."

He was getting annoyed. "So why didn't you just say I saw nothin?"

She got just as annoyed. "Cause I'm not blind? I mean," she looked at the Mountie. "Aren't I standing here? Aren't my eyes open?"

"Yes. I can verify that both of those facts are true, or appear to be true." The Mountie was looking at her strangely.

"Right. So he asks what I saw and I answer!"

The American cop said, "But you didn't see nothing about the murder!"

"What? I'm supposed to read his mind? He asked what I saw not what I saw of the murder. I mean, I kind of knew that's what he was thinkin' but what he said was 'what did you see?' So I answered what he said out loud!" This guy was just as bad as cops back in Brooklyn: Thick in the head and annoying.

"Ok. You can go." The American turned around and walked away.

She shook her head at the annoying man. The Mountie looked at her, attempted to speak, and then started walking. She called out, "You two are hilarious. I can't wait to see you two when you're brothers."

The Mountie stopped first and turned back. "Brothers?"

"Well brothers-in-law. He's gonna marry your sister."

The American turned and said, "You mean he marries my sister?"

She looked at him in confusion. "You don't have a sister."

"Yes I do – Francesca."

She rolled her eyes. "That's the other guy's sister. No. You're gonna marry his sister."

The Mountie said, "I do not have a sister."

She winced. "Oh. Sorry. He didn't tell you." She looked off. "Of course, he wasn't told – she pretended it was the other guy." She waved her hand. "You'll figure it out. Your Dad will explain – after he realizes the truth, same as you."

The American said, "His dad is dead! Murdered!"

She looked at the Chicago cop. "What's that got to do with anything?" This guy was a moron.

The cop looked at her like she was crazy. She was used to that. She reached into her purse and pulled out the cookie, broke it in half, and passed half over to the wolf. "You have fun with that, messin' with him and all. But remember, he's the one who pays for the food. Right?" The wolf gobbled up the treat and panted in answer before turning away and rushing toward the other two people who had helped arrest the couple.

"Even if he rushes off with little acknowledgement, at least as his companion I can say: Thank you kindly," the Mountie said.

She nodded with a smile. At least this guy had manners. "You know. At some point, you gotta be the one who talks. Cause she won't say anything herself. Read the rules exactly. You can figure out a way it could work." She thought about it. "But wait until your dad says his last goodbye to explain it to her. Cause it'll disrupt too much otherwise. But if you don't – well, you and her will never find real happiness. Speak up at just the right time? It'll work out. And then you can throw the moron after your sister – he'll treat her right."

She turned and started to walk away – she had to get out of there. The Mountie stopped her. "What is your name?"

She was about to answer, "Stephanie Susan James", her birth name. But she had been thinking about taking a name that was more suited for a while. So she answered, "Avalon." She paused and finished, "Avalon Harmonia."

She turned and walked out of the mall.