Mary Dicker threw her dirty clothes on the floor and pulled her pyjamas on: pale pink underwear that looked like running shorts, matching camisole with a cream lace border, both cut out a soft, ribbed cotton cloth. They were her favorite during the summer months because they were light enough to wear on hot evenings.

She flipped the light switch down and the light of the full moon penetrated her bedroom, coating everything with an ethereal pale glow. She wandered over to her desk where her acceptance letter lay opened, next to a scattering of thank-you notes and stamps she had yet to mail. Her mortarboard and gown were draped over the back of her desk chair, and she let her slender fingers brush against the tassel.

She turned from the desk and stepped over her day's clothes.

"I'll put them away in the morning," she said lazily to herself.

She climbed into bed and looked at the closet door across the room. Suddenly the usual wave of anticipation, fear, and excitement filled her and she knew that she couldn't just go to sleep yet.

"Okay, Mary, you ding-dong. One last time. Seriously, this is the last night you do this," she murmured to herself, feeling slightly annoyed.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and watched the closet door. Her bedroom was considerably different from when she was little, from when she last saw the Kitty. The pink, floral, striped wallpaper had been replaced with periwinkle blue paint; the finger paintings on the walls were packed away and now posters of Kylie Minogue and the Quantico school papered her wall; the children's toys were gone, instead substituted with teenager "toys" such as stereos, phones, and fashion magazines.

It was rounding eleven o'clock and she was beginning to nod off when she heard something. Her head jerked up; she was wide-awake now, eyes large as they remained focused on her closet door. It sounded like something scratching, something scuffling on the wood floor and she knew she wasn't imagining it. The door slowly creaked open and a familiar scent reached her nose, faint skunky musk, falling rain, and warm leaves decomposing. It was so earthy, so comforting and she breathed it in deeply. Her breath caught in her throat as she crawled off the bed and stood in the center of the room looking into the black space.

Slowly a large form emerged from the dark, one that had been in her dreams every night. The large blue and purple creature lumbered slowly into the doorway of her closet and he stopped at the sight of her, large blue eyes growing wide at the sight of her. Her mouth was dry and her voice croaked as she spoke.

"Kitty."


A/N: Yes, her last name is Dicker--as in "Rick Dicker"--though Boo's first name really is Mary.