I've had this idea on the back burner for a while, and finally decided to bring it forward. Now that it's finally getting some attention, let's see what we end up with…

Disclaimer: Any Kim Possible characters used therein aren't mine, nor do I gain any monetary compensation for their use in this story. Although there will be one major character that is an original by me.

Chapter 1

It was a dark and cold night in Middleton Colorado, actually on the verge of snowing, but there wasn't quite enough moisture in the air. It was just about midnight and a lone figure was slowly walking along the sidewalk, bundled in an oversized gray parka with a red stocking hat and thick pink fuzzy mittens on her hands.

From a distance it was hard to tell who the figure was, and you had to be pretty much right in front of her to see the blue eyes, and small wisps of blond hair framing her face… It was a twenty-five year old Tara King.

Tara sniffed again for maybe the 50th time that evening, and ran a mitten across her now red nose. Her eyes were red from crying, and her lower lip simply could not stop trembling. Whether it was from her crying or the cold, a person couldn't rightly tell.

Her slow walk took Tara in front of a small shop on this stretch of sidewalk that she didn't recognize, but it had a light on inside. It looked like an old bookstore that might have been there for years, but the young girl didn't recognize it for the life of her.

Just as Tara stepped past the door, she heard the tinkling of a small bell behind her, and then the voice of an elderly woman. "Come inside, child. You look cold, and my store is warm." Tara turned around, and she did indeed see an elderly woman.

Being as cold as she was, Tara just smiled and entered the small shop, saying 'Thank-you' as she entered.

The old woman appeared to be somewhere between seventy to eighty years old, Tara surmised, but the lady seemed quite spry for her age. "Would you like some hot chocolate Dear? I just made some.

After taking her gloves off and un-zipping her coat, Tara smiled. "Yes, I would love a cup. Thank-you… Miss…?"

"Oh dear… where are my manners?" The old woman said as she adjusted a thick shawl that was draped over her shoulders. "My name is Abigail Winters, but you can call me Abby. What's your name my dear?"

Tara took off her stocking hat, causing her long blond locks to fall loosely about her shoulders, and a few strands stuck out from the static. "My names Tara… Tara King. Nice to meet you Abby."

"My, my… aren't you a pretty girl." Abby said as she stepped up to Tara, handing her a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

"Thank-you ma'am." The young girl replied while taking the cup. "I didn't think there would be any stores open at this hour, and you surprised me a bit when you opened your door." She sniffed again, before taking a sip of her drink. "Mmm… Just like Mom used to make."

"Used to, Dear?" Abby asked, and offered Tara a seat in a comfortable chair in what appeared to be a reading room, of a sort.

"She passed away just after I graduated high school."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh that's OK." Tara took another sip, reveling in the small amount of cinnamon and touch of mint.

"So you're sad about something else?" The old woman asked as she sat down next to Tara in another chair that she hadn't noticed before.

"Oh I'm not s…" She started to say, but the look that Abby gave her said that the old woman was very astute as to why she had been crying. "Someone I care for very much just got married to his childhood friend." Tara kept her head down, as she could feel her eyes welling up once again now that she was warming up.

"Let me guess my dear… And you were… ahem… are… in love with him?

Blue eyes snapped up first, then Tara slowly raised her head and nodded.

"Are you happy for him?" Abby asked, while gently laying a hand on the younger girl's forearm.

"Yes, I am." Tara said a bit too fast, or so she thought. "And for K… I mean for the girl he married as well. She's also a good friend of mine."

"But yet I can see that your heart is still troubled. You seem to be happy for them, yet your sad because you would like to know if you and this young man could have had a future together. Am I right?"

At first the young blond girl was taken back a bit. She had just met this older woman just a few minutes ago, and she already had read Tara like a… book.

Cautious blue eyes looked over at Abby. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't think so, my dear…But I do think I can help you, if you'll let me." The old woman slowly rose from her chair and went to an old wooden stand, and removed an old book that was bound in heavy leather. The book appeared to be heavy, as it was easily over a foot tall and maybe ten inches across, but the old woman seemed to carry it like it was nothing.

Abby brought the book over to Tara, who took the large tome and set it in her lap. The young girl was glad she had jeans on, as the leather felt quite cold to the touch.

Tara looked up with a questioning glance, and before she could say anything, Abby replied. "It's your book, my Dear."

"Wh… what do you mean, 'my book'? I… I don't own anything like this… and I doubt I can afford anything so…" Tara ran a finger across the raised design on the outside. "Beautiful."

Suddenly the raised design that was unrecognizable to the young girl moved on it's own accord, and formed a first, middle, and last name. The name… Tara Renee King.

"What the…" She yelped in surprise, wanting to initially throw the book off her lap, but Tara found that she couldn't even budge the book.

"As I said…" Abby spoke with a smile, "It's your book. Open it."

At first Tara didn't even want to touch the object sitting in her lap. Yes, it was a book, by all means, but what book could change it's own title? And how did it know her middle name?

With eyes closed, she slowly lifted the cover with just two fingers, and Tara lay the book open. After a moment she finally opened her eyes to look down at the pages, and Tara saw… nothing. Immediately she took a thumb, lifted a few pages and let them slowly fall back down, looking at each page.

Tara looked up at Abby, then back down at the pages, then she did it one more time before saying, "Wh… why are the pages blank?"

"Like I said, it's your book, and you can write it anyway you wish. Would you like something in your past to happen differently than it already has, or how would you like your future to play out? At the risk of sounding cliched, your life is an open book, and you can write anything you want. You can either change the past, or mold your future. So… Tara Renee King… I would like you to start writing."

Unbeknownst to Tara, somewhere towards the back of the bookstore, a clock started to strike the midnight hour.

To be continued…

I'm planning on this to be only 3 chapters, Possibly 4. Hopefully it's not too predictable…