Katlene woke up with a start from one of her continuous nightmares. Her heart was beating rapidly and her breath was coming out in short gasping breaths. Her brain was screaming for her to calm down and that it was only a dream. Only unreality confiscating her mind. She gradually recovered and laid back down and tried to settle down her heart. She pulled her covers over her body as calmly as she could with her body still shaking. She slowed down her breathing and while she took three deep breaths she gently closed her eyes.

At first there was only deep, peaceful darkness then all of the sudden she could almost hear the vibrations, her nightmare was repeating itself. The darkness only lightened slightly but enough that Katlene found herself in a field. She surveyed the space around herself, she knew she'd seen it before but as like all the other times she had this dream she couldn't remember what made it a nightmare until it was upon her. She turned around and looked out at the wide expanse of green and then up at the large full moon. The vibrations hit the ground around her again. At first her mind said, "Earthquake" but it knew better than that. She broke her eyes away from the moon and looked at the hill her body was facing. A large mass was coming to the top of the hill. As it drew closer it could be seen to be a raging mob of wild horses stampeding towards Katlene's solitary form. She tried to move but could not she was frozen to the spot. When she could feel the mud coming off the hooves of the horses and hitting her, a scream rose to her throat and shout resounded among the hills, "No!" It was like the clang of gong it resonated throughout the hills and came back in echoes to her ears as they deadened.

She awoke again covered in sweat.

"This will not do." She got up and put on a robe.

She silently walked through her parent's colonial house careful not to wake her parents or her sibling. She headed towards the French doors that led into the family's immense garden. It was a peaceful place to go when you want to escape heavy thoughts. There was a path that led to a large waterfall. Katlene had teasingly begged down her knees for a seat underneath the waterfall, her father had laughed at her drama queen ways. Although he had laughed he did make the closest thing to what she asked for. The bench ended up being situated underneath some of the waterfall's rivers that through the sloping expanse of their backyard made mini waterfalls. On both sides of the bench was a mini waterfall, which sprayed lightly the occupant of the seat with a thin mist.

Katlene ran to the bench and sat down with a sigh, she looked up at the stars and soon her thoughts drifted away from the nightmare and flew to brighter thoughts.

Up in a tree at its very peak was a black feathered falcon. It arched its wings out wide as it prepared itself to take flight.

Katlene's thoughts wandered from school to the wonders of creation and then back to school. She thought of her friends and how they were all going up to Montana in the summer and they were going to go hiking and horse-back riding. Horses. "Oh no…Just don't think about it. Think about the stars." But the blazing stars reminded her too much like the flames that could be seen in the eyes of the mad horses right before they were about to trample her. "No!" She suddenly thought of practicing for her play at school, but her mind went blank.

The falcon looked down as he heard a voice.

"Sing. That's it I'll start singing. What?" She started humming to herself; her voice came out humming a favorite tune from a Disney movie that she had watched when she was little.

"Dancing bears painted wings

Things I almost remember

And I song someone sings

Once upon a December

Someone holds me safe and warm

Horses prance through a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memories…"

Katlene knew she was off on some of the lyrics but she didn't care she was on a roll.

The falcon looked curiously over at the young woman beginning to sway with a song and before he knew it she began floating across the garden dancing with imaginary me. If his beak could have split a grin it would have done so. Something about this girl was familiar.

Katlene was rearing towards the end of the song and she remembered how in the cartoon Anastasia had curtsied at the end of the song. She smiled to herself and when finishing the song she did the same blocking (actions).

"And a song someone sings

Once Upon a December…"

Katlene let out a contented sigh as she rose from her curtsey. She looked up at the stars once again that night but this time fearlessly with no dark thoughts lurking in the corners of her mind. A falling star fell she smiled up at it.

"I wish that my dreams could come true." With yet another sigh and shake of the head. "A superstition that only fools believe." She shook her head again.

Your wish is my command, thought the two dark eyes looking at her from above.

Katlene started walking towards the doors but then she looked up at the stars once more.

"Goodnight dear sta…" Before she could complete her sentence there was a quaking of her feet and the stars seemed to come together and form one star. There was an explosion and Katlene lost her footing and everything went black.