Chapter One
Desperately trying to hold on to the last precious moments of sleep, Theresa rolled onto her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head.
Until she remembered what day it was.
Christmas.
Not that Christmas was something joyful to her anymore. But to Kate, Christmas was still magical and exciting.
As she pulled the pillow from her head, her eyes slowly opened, finally focusing in on her nightstand.
And the framed 8x10 of
Ethan Crane that sat upon it.
Theresa quickly sat up and glanced around her room.
This is still my dream…
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them once more.
This was no dream.
Everything was the way she remembered.
The battered furniture, painted cream by Luis when she had whined that it looked like a Goodwill store in her room. The stack of fashion and society magazines, sitting in a pile on her desk. A pile of laundry in the corner, waiting to be washed.
The dozens of pictures of Ethan tacked to her walls, his face enclosed by red hearts drawn with magic marker.
Theresa could already feel last nights dinner starting to surface.
She opened the drawer to her nightstand, digging through the mess until she located the remote control to her TV set. As she turned on the TV, Charlie Gibson welcomed viewers to Good Morning America.
"Happy Monday! It's July 5th, 1999, and the time is 8:00. Good morning, America!"
Theresa stared at the television in disbelief.
"Where is Kate?" she murmured to herself, jumping out of bed. She flung the door to her room open and stepped into the hallway of the Lopez- Fitzgerald house. Her eyes darted every which way, hands trembling nervously.
This house had burned down nearly six years ago.
Grabbing the wall for support, she pulled herself down the hall to the kitchen, where she could hear her mother singing softly. As soon as she got to the kitchen table, she collapsed into a chair, her whole body now shaking.
"Theresita! What a wonderful surprise! What are you doing up this early? I know that the dance on the wharf kept you out late last night." Pilar wiped her hands on a towel and walked over to her daughter, pulling her into her arms. Suddenly, she pulled away, a look of concern in her eyes.
"Mija, what is wrong? Your body is trembling, and you are as white as a ghost!"
"Mama, where is Kate?"
Theresa raised her eyes to her mother imploringly. Where was her daughter? And why was she back in her old house, a house that had burned to the ground? What was going on?
She had gone to bed last night in the Crane mansion, after tucking Kate into bed, and a stony goodnight to Julian. She had gone to her bedroom and found the box with her old diary in it…
"Do I know Kate? Did she stay the night?" Pilar's gentle voice snapped Theresa from her reverie.
Wait a second, Theresa thought to herself, Mama doesn't know who Kate is…
"No, Mama," Theresa replied, her voice thick with emotion, "Kate is my daughter. Your granddaughter. Katherine Leigh Crane. Age five."
Pilar let out a discouraged sigh and walked back over to the dishes.
"Dios mio, my Theresa. How many times do I have to tell you that Ethan Crane will never love you? No more of these silly fantasies. They will only hurt you in the end."
Staring at her mother in disbelief, Theresa pulled herself out of the chair and stood up. As she did, the last part of the night before came crashing into her mind…
Starlight, Starbrite, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight…
I wish that I had not lied and schemed to win Ethan. I wish that my love had
been as pure as his. I wish that Ethan still believed in me. I wish I were
still that girl who had so much life in her. But most of all, I wish Ethan the
happiness that he deserves.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
"Oh my God," Theresa whispered, grasping the ledge of the table for balance. "This is my flashback. My miracle."
This is my chance to right all of my wrongs…
"Theresa? Did you say something?"
Before Theresa could answer, the room started to swim, and then there was only black…