Amber looked at the two bloody bodies on the floor and never knew a person had that much blood in them as the floor became overcome with two large red puddles. She felt sick at the sight and swallowed some bile that came to her mouth. Amber dropped the gun and jerked at the sound of the metal striking the tile floor. She turned and ran to her room and took a quick shower to wash the blood that splattered on her face and arms. Amber took the bloodstained clothes and threw them in the closet and brought out her small suitcase, her journals, and her box of pictures. She knew the police would find the clothes and get her finger prints off the gun and would know it was her, but by the time they did it would be too late. Amber got dressed in a simple black and white peasant dress, put on her heels, packed a few clothes, her makeup bag, and the box in the suitcase. She calmly walked back into the kitchen and looked again at the man and woman. She was not sick this time and she smiled at them. She placed her journals on the kitchen table and scribbled a note that simply read "Answers" and laid it on top of the notebooks. She then went through the man's pockets and pulled out his wallet. Amber opened the wallet and pulled out his credit cards and all the cash he had and tossed the wallet on the floor. She then grabbed the man's car keys off the hook next to the kitchen door and opened the door to leave the home forever. She stopped, turned, walked back to the bodies, and spit for the second and third time in her life. The first time was when she was eight when she and her mother were watching her brother play a baseball game while her dad coached. A young Amber idolized her older brother and she would watch him spit on the pitchers mound. After the game the family was walking to their car when Amber spit on the ground to impress her brother. Her mother scolded her telling her ladies do not spit while her brother rubbed her head with affection and laughed. Amber never spit again until that night. She found it satisfying to see her saliva run down the dead faces of the man who raped her in horrible ways repeatedly almost every night for the past months and the woman who caused her and Natalie so much physical and mental pain. Amber actually giggled like a child at sight and walked back to the door.

Amber walked from the bloody scene of the house she hated with the keys to the man's car clinched in her hand with her purse and pulling a suitcase behind her. The Goth girl drove to the closet resort hotel and asked for the best room they had available paying with the man's credit card. In the spacious suite, Amber showered again, fixed her makeup to perfection and chose her favorite crimson lipstick and styled her hair the way Ran and Samantha used to love it. She piled her thick black hair on top of her head, braided the two red streaks, and kept them down to frame her lovely face. She looked in the mirror of the bathroom and smiled and thought she looked cute. Amber then placed a large "X" on the mirror with her lipstick over her reflection and walked into the bedroom and got dressed. She put on a new strapless bra that pushed her small breasts up to make them look larger and give her more cleavage and new pair of panties and white thigh highs she purchased on the way to the hotel, using the man's credit card. Amber looked at herself in the mirror and thought she looked so damn cute and then she traced the W scar on her left breast with her small delicate fingers. She smiled as she thought the woman could never hurt her or Natalie ever again. After she admired herself again she put on a white loose fitting white sundress that was low cut, lacy, and the hem came down to her knees. When she was dressed, Amber walked to the lobby and into the spa area to get a manicure. After her manicure, the young girl walked back to her room and sat at the desk and wrote two letters on the hotel stationary. When the letters were done she read them for any mistakes, smiled, and sealed them in envelopes. Amber then looked at her watch and waited on the edge of the bed as she painted her finger nails and toe nails with crimson polish to match her lipstick. At eleven thirty that evening Amber picked up the phone and made a call to the police reporting the shooting and hung up after they began to ask her questions. Next she left her room and walked down to the lobby. She flirted charmingly, happily, and shamelessly with the desk clerk for a while before she gave him one of the letters and the box of pictures and instructed him to send them overnight delivery. She paid him in cash. She gave the doorman a charming seductive smile as he opened the door and tipped the valet a large sum of money after he brought the BMW to the front of the hotel. When questioned by the police later; the desk clerk, doorman, and valet would comment she seemed like such a charming, happy, flirtatious, and very lovely young girl. Amber drove past an apartment house and placed the remaining letter in the mail box and sighed sadly. The girl had to struggle not to run into the house and grab Lilly, kiss her, beg her forgiveness on her knees, and make love to her again…just one more time. The girl gave her so much in such a short period and Amber loved her for that. Amber then drove the car and parked it in the same spot the man would wait for her when she got off work and walked to the beach. Amber made her way through the construction barrier of the pier and walked calmly to the edge and saw the White Lady smiling at her kindly. With a smile and tears of joy in her eyes, Amber cried in her happiness because they loved her again. The voices whispered how much they loved and adored her as the young girl grabbed the White Lady's hand. Amber looked up at the tall beautiful lady, "Will you stay with me…promise me you will not let go." The Lady smiled wider and nodded.

When the police investigated the shooting they found two witnesses at the beach, a young man and his girlfriend doing what young lovers do on the beach at night. The young man told the police he saw the beautiful young teenage girl walk onto the pier and he ran after her calling for her to stop. When she got to the edge of the pier she appeared to be reaching for someone to take her hand and he called out to her. The girl turned and with a very pleasant smile but tears in her eyes winked at him slow and seductive and then jumped into the deep ocean water. The man yelled for his girlfriend to call the police as he ran to the edge of the pier but she was gone. The ocean already took her to its depths. Amber St. Claire was only seventeen years old when the White Lady took her to join the people she loved so dearly.

After a long search, Amber's body washed up on a beach ten miles from the pier two days later and the police closed the case of the shooting deaths of the man and his wife. They had enough evidence to know what happened. The head investigator of the Malibu Homicide Department told his wife the evening he closed the case how cruel the world really was and her told her about what her read in those journals of the girl who shot her uncle and aunt. The detective wept as her looked at his sleeping three year old daughter and thought of the lovely teenage girl and what she endured before she could take no more. His wife hugging him from behind telling him they will be wonderful parents, they would protect their little girl, and their child would never have to go through what that beautiful dark haired young girl had to live with.

Miley was in her room pouting and being depressed as she had been for the last week. Lilly still had not talked to her and she could not blame her friend. What she did was terrible and a large betrayal. Lilly loved Amber a great deal and Miley had sex with the girl her best friend loved. Miley did not know why she did, true Amber was very attractive and sexy, but she should have controlled herself. But she did not and she could not. When Amber started kissing her and touching her; the Goth girl turned into a succubus Miley could not resist. She tried…she tried to fight it, but she could not. Miley had to smile even in her sadness at the sex she had with Amber; it was wonderful and she climaxed over and over in such a short time. Then Amber started playing her and Lilly against each other; leading them both on. Miley did not love Amber like Lilly did, but she sure as hell desired her and wanted to make love to her again and again. Miley hated herself for betraying her best friend, a girl she loved more than anyone, and she hated that she wanted Amber sexually again. She would never forget the pain in Lilly's face when she confronted her at the beach party and the hurt she caused her best friend. Seeing that pain made Miley's desire for the Goth girl vanish and now all she wanted back was her friend and the love they shared.

"Miley! Miley! Get your ass down here! You have to see this!" She heard Jackson yell from downstairs.

"Leave me alone!" Miley shouted back.

"No! You have to see the news….hurry up!" Miley got out of bed and walked downstairs.

"I swear, Jackson, if it is another story of how Hannah Montana cancelled her latest concert…or…or if they talk about how she may be on drugs after she fucked up at the last show…or…Fuck! I don't give a fuck! I don't care about Hannah anymore! I could care less if she ever does another concert or if she dies! I just want Lilly to love me again!" Miley yelled as she looked at the TV over the couch standing behind Jackson.

"Just watch…its coming up next on the news…there! Watch!" Jackson shouted.

Miley watched the pretty blonde newswoman talk about a murder in Malibu of a once highly thought of plastic surgeon and his wife the previous night. The scene flashed to a detective who was giving a press conference. He stated both the man and woman were shot to death and a suspect had been identified and they are searching for her now. The suspect is the niece of the couple who came to live with them after her brother/guardian was killed in Afghanistan. They could not release the suspects name due to her being a minor but it is suspected she killed herself by jumping off the Malibu Beach Pier since witness to her jump have identified what appears as the same girl. Her body had not been found as of yet. The reporters asked questions and about a motive and the detective just told them it was an on going investigation but horrible abuse of the girl and the couple's own daughter, who is in the hospital still recovering from injuries in a supposedly fall, is suspected. The detective told the press no more questions and walked from the camera.

"Shit…fuck…that was Amber! My God…I never knew…Miley…its terrible? Did you know?" Jackson turned his head but Miley was gone. He heard her car start and tires screech as she drove away.

Miley knocked on the door to Lilly's house. She knew Lilly needed her regardless if her best friend knew it herself or wanted her. Miley was going to be there for the girl if it killed her…or Lilly killed her. The two girls had not spoken since that night at the beach party, not counting the when Lilly told her to fuck off after Miley got in that fight with Amber. Miley took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door opened and Miley smiled at Lilly's pretty mom. She looked as if she had been crying.

"Umm…Ms. Truscott…is Lilly home?"

"Oh, Miley…I am glad you are here! She…she is in her room with Oliver and she is…she is so heartbroken and crying. Why would that crazy girl do this? I don't understand." Lilly's mom cried out as she hugged Miley. After she hugged the girl, Ms. Truscott led Miley to her daughter's room and knocked on the door. Miley felt jealousy when she heard Oliver was there. She wanted Lilly to want her and not Oliver. She forced it down and knew this was not the time for that.

"Go away, mom! I…I do…leave me alone!" Miley heard Lilly scream and could tell by her voice she was crying. Miley touched the door knob and discovered it was unlocked and opened the door. She looked at her friend who was on her bed lying on her stomach and her head was buried in her pillow. Miley saw Lilly's body shake as she cried and heard the girl's sobs. Her heart broke even more. Oliver was sitting on the floor by the bed trying to comfort his friend and he turned to Miley and smiled. The boy then tapped Lilly on the shoulder and she turned her head to the door. Miley saw her eyes were puffy and red from crying and in her left hand she held a piece of paper.

"Mom, I fucking told you…Miley! Oh Miley! I…Miley!" Lilly screamed and jumped off the bed and jumped into her friends arms. "Miley…she…Amber…she…ohhhh, Miley, I love her so much…why…why did she do this! I…I was going to tell her today I forgive her and…and love her and be with her again and…we were going to be together again…" Lilly placed her head on Miley's chest and sobbed.

"I'm sorry, baby, I am so sorry." Miley said as she stroked the blonde's hair and she felt tears of her own fall down her cheeks.

Oliver left the room to leave the two girls alone and followed Lilly's mom to the kitchen where they both sat down at the small breakfast table. Ms. Truscott took Oliver's hands in hers.

Lilly cried in Miley's arms for a long time as the two girls sat on the bed. Lilly clutched a white piece of paper the entire time. Finally the blonde pushed her friend away and wiped her eyes. Miley smiled gently at her.

"M…maybe it was not her? They have not found the body yet…and…maybe it was just someone else. Maybe…maybe Amber is on the run and hiding." Miley told Lilly hoping it was true. Miley did not like Amber since she still blamed the girl for everything, but she did not want her dead and seeing how bad Lilly was hurting she hoped for her friend's sake Amber was not the girl who jumped off the pier. Lilly shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"No…it…it was her Miley…she…here…I did not let Oliver read it and I am only letting you read it because it mentions you." Miley took the letter and noticed it was written on stationary from a very expensive resort hotel she had stayed at when she had to be Hannah while a reporter followed her around for a week doing a story on her. Miley recognized the perfect small print of Amber's writing.

My dear sweet Lilly,

I struggled with the thought of writing this to you, hoping you would just forget me when I was gone. Then I decided I owed you. I owed you an apology and maybe an explanation. I do not ask for forgiveness even through I think you will forgive me eventually, you can't help it since it is just part of your sweet kind nature I loved so much in you.

My dear Lilly, I cannot fight it anymore. I cannot handle it anymore. The voices are just too much now. I hear them all the time now. They are the voices of the ones I love begging me to join them. My wonderful parents and my kind over protective brother, my sweet and lovely protector and greatest friend Ran, and then my darling beautiful Samantha…all of them call to me to join them and I must go to them so they will love me again. Then there is the White Lady. I see her more everyday. When she first came to me it was in my dreams and then I saw her in my crazy awake world; a world I can no longer understand. At first she seemed happy to just see me and observe me and smile at me. Then she changed. She changed when I fell in love with you. She became angry at that love and then I realized she was not there to watch over me but she was there for my soul. She was always there for my soul. That is what she wants now and I must give it to her. She waits for me, sweet Lilly, she waits for me on that pier you love so much and I must go to her. She promised me she would be there and hold my hand as I jump and not let go as I fall into the cold water. She promised me I would be with the ones I love so dearly. I cannot live in this world anymore, my dear Lilly; I cannot function in it anymore. The real world seems like a dream to me more and more and my dream world is the only thing that is real to me.

Sweet beautiful Lilly, I do love you in my crazy screwed up way and I am sorry for what I did to you and to Miley. I know I hurt both of you and I am sorry for that. I did it because I listened to the voices in my head. When Miley first came back to you I saw the way you and her looked at one another and I saw love. Oh my wonderful Lilly, I saw the love you and she had and I knew I was going to lose you to her and then I listened to the words of my wonderful Samantha. I heard her telling me I was going to lose you like I lost her. She told me I was going to lose you to someone who knew you better, someone who loved you more, and someone you loved more than me. Just like I lost her to someone and she told me I must stop it if I wanted to keep you. I did want to keep you since you gave me happiness when the voices allowed me to be happy and I did the only thing I knew how to do and listened to the voices. I realized too late they lied to me, love. They deceived me out of jealousy of you and my love for you.

I never was much of a fighter, sweet Lilly. I never learned how to fight for things I wanted. Most things I got just came to me. I never had to earn my parents love or the love of my brother, they just loved me. I never had to earn the love of my best friend Ran. She loved me unconditionally and I never had to earn it. From the first day we met, she loved me with all her heart and I did nothing to earn that love. I never had to earn the love of my beautiful Samantha, she just did. I was so spoiled that way. My problem was keeping that love. I lost it all with either death or them leaving me. I did not want to lose the love you had for me I never had to earn. Maybe that was a curse. Maybe if I ever had to earn love from someone I could have kept it. I knew Miley wanted me and desired me. I do not say that out of arrogance, it is just the way it was. I know I am not the most beautiful girl in the world. I have always been surrounded by girls more beautiful than me. My mother, Ran, Samantha, Miley, the hated Carly, and of course you; so it was not beauty that made people desire me and want me. I do not know what it was…another curse maybe…but I know when someone wanted me sexually and she did. And when I wanted someone sexually I got them. Again I did not have to earn it; it just happened. But also once again I never could keep them after I got them…part of the curse. I knew Miley would want me regardless if her heart fought it, her body wanted me. She did try to stop it, Lilly…please know that…she tried to fight it and I lied to you, sweet Lilly. She did not come on to me, but I came on to her first because I listened to the voices and believed their lies. Please don't blame her. I listened to the voice of my dear wonderful Samantha telling me I was going to lose you if I did not fight for you and I used the only weapon I had. My mother came to me later and told me she was so ashamed of me and taught me better and called me a whore and I cried at those words, sweet Lilly, I cried to hear her tell me that. She was never ashamed of me until that moment and it broke my heart. I do care for Miley, tell her I do…I grew to care for her. She is a sweet kind girl. Tell her I am sorry as well. I never wanted to hurt her or you. I never wanted to come between the two of you like I did. I just wanted to keep you so bad for my own and the thought of losing you hurt so much I listened to the voices.

Go to her, dear Lilly, go to Miley. She loves you more than I ever could and I know you love her more than you love me…you will see that when you are ready. You and she have a beautiful friendship. A friendship so wonderful and one that only comes once in a lifetime and is very rare in this cruel world. I know. I had one like that and it broke my heart when I lost her. Do not lose Miley. I beg you, sweet Lilly! Go to her and talk to her and allow yourself to forgive her and allow her to forgive you. You are lucky, Lilly, so lucky. You and Miley not only have a wonderful friendship but she loves you romantically as well as you love her romantically. I see it in both your eyes when you look at each other. I never had that love with Ran. As much as I loved Ran and as much as she loved me I was never blessed with that type of love for her; regardless of how many times I tried. That love and closeness of being a friend and then loving each other in a way beyond friendship is a sweet wonderful love. Take that love, dear Lilly, take her love and make her take yours. Do not let a mentally screwed up crazy person who no longer understands her life or the world she lives in stop you and her from having that love. Both of you deserve it! You will know when the time is right to give her that love and please, I beg you, give it to her and don't hold back that sweet sexy passion you have in you!

I do love you, my beautiful Lilly, but I do not love you enough. I tried but I could not. I could not love you as I loved my Ran or my sweet beautiful Samantha. I am not built that way and I am sorry. I do love you in my crazy way but not as I loved them. For that I am sorry. You were so kind and caring and loved me even during my crazy moods and when I heard the voices and when I saw the White Lady. You deserve better than me. I wish you knew the real me, love, I wish you could have known the Amber before the voices and the White Lady. I was a normal person once, dear Lilly. I used to be so happy and charming and sweet and honest and loving and I used to love life. I used to enjoy being around people I cared about, meeting knew people, being a social butterfly, and I used to love to dance. God, Lilly, I wish you could have seen me dance. Ran and Samantha used to tease me; telling me that they never saw a girl who was such a klutz at doing a simple everyday thing like walking who could be so lovely, flawless, and graceful while she danced. I miss dancing, love, and I wish I could have danced with you under the full moon on that pier you love so well. I wish you could have known me before the craziness started.

But maybe that was a good thing, because I don't think the real me would have loved you as the crazy me does. I do not say that to be cruel or to cause you hurt, but the real me was hopelessly and completely in love with my dear sweet Samantha even after she left me the first time and still after she left me the second time with her terrible death. But maybe I would have loved you…who could not? Maybe you could have healed the love that I could never have like you tried to heal the craziness in me. You were so kind and good to me and tried to understand what was going on in my crazy mind that even I could not understand…you tried to understand and I love you for that, dear Lilly. Not many people would have been there for me in what you used to call my dark periods. And they were dark, sweet Lilly; they were so dark and scary toward the end when I heard the voices being crueler. I do love you, Lilly; never doubt I do not love you! Yes, I take back what I wrote…the real me would have loved you as much as the crazy me does!

I used to welcome the voices at first…I used to beg for them to come and talk to me. The voices of the ones I loved so deeply were a comfort to me, but lately they have become cruel and even hateful at times because I promised I would join them and I was breaking that promise…but I had to make sure Natalie was safe before I could join them and I wanted to stay with you, love, and that made them angry with me. They were jealous of you and our love, especially Samantha. Well Natalie is safe now and I will keep the promise to the voices and follow the White Lady they sent to show me the way to them even if it means leaving you…they are just so much stronger than the love I have for you and I have to go and calm them now, my beautiful Lilly…I am sorry but I have to.

I am not sorry for what I did to that man and woman. I will pay for that after the White Lady takes me and I will accept that payment. But I had to do it. I could not let them hurt that sweet precious child anymore. I hope she forgives me but I do not ask her forgiveness since I have given her a better life and a chance. She will know the love of good people and she will be happy. I know she loved her mother even after all the woman did to her; it is just nature for a child to love her mother regardless how terrible that mother is and she may not forgive me but I know she will be happy and safe now. How could she not? I know first hand the love of Ram's parents and how they will cherish her. Please do not think unkindly of me for what I did to that man and woman. Please try to understand why I did it. I did not do it for me. I accepted the abuse and the rape and would have lived with it forever, but I had to protect that sweet innocent child who deserves her childhood to be happy and full of fairy tales. You were so right when you told me the day we celebrated her birthday…she does deserve to be a child and she deserves a happy childhood. I gave that to her when I killed the man and woman. I killed them not for me, but for her. Maybe she will forgive me, but I love my Little Peep so much to risk her love to give her a happy life. Watch over her, my love, she adores you so much. Allow her to forget me but never allow her to forget you, the girl who showed her to enjoy life and taught her to surf. Take care of her even if it is just for a little while but never let her forget you.

I must go now, my sweet Lilly. The White Lady awaits me on that pier you love so much. Please do not shy away from the pier. Please do not look at it and think of me. Think of the pier as you always did. I know you loved it. Try not to think of me at all if you can. Do not think of the crazy girl who screwed up you life. Do not think of the screwed up girl who no longer understood her world. Go to Miley, sweet Lilly, love her and allow her to love you. Kiss her and worship her body and allow her to worship yours! Love her, sweet Lilly; love her as I know you can! You will know when the time is right!

I am so sorry I hurt you…I truly am. I told when we first met my story was not going to end happy and I am sorry you got written in it. Forget me, my sweet Lilly, forget you ever met me.

I do love you, my dear Lilly

Amber

Miley read the letter twice and Lilly looked at her as tears ran down her friend's face. As Miley read the letter, Lilly tried to see in her the love she could have that Amber told her about, but all she saw was her friend who betrayed her. Lilly would forgive Miley of that because she loved Miley as a friend, but she could not see any other love for the girl that Amber saw. Lilly just felt her heart broken for Amber and her loss. Miley handed the letter back to Lilly and hugged her friend again.

"She…she did love you, Lilly…never think she did not…her last thoughts were of you. She…she just…she was just…"

Lilly jumped off the bed and pushed Miley back and stood in front of her friend. "What was she, Miley? Tell me…you want to say it…tell me…she was fucking nuts! Is that what you wanted to say! Well fuck you, Miley Stewart! Fuck you! She was not crazy…she suffered so much…if you only knew what she suffered you would…you would…you never would have fucked her! You would have tried to understand her like I tried…damn you, Miley…damn you!" Lilly screamed and Miley put her arms around her friend and Lilly tried to push her way but the taller girl held on tight and would not let her escape. Lilly struggled briefly and then hugged Miley tight and placed her head on her friend's chest and cried.

"I loved her; Miley…I loved her so much." Lilly said sobbing into Miley. Miley stroked her hair.

"I know, baby, I know. And I don't think she was crazy. She was just very confused and hurting very bad on the inside and you could not help her. You tried, Lilly, you tried so hard but it was beyond you. And she did love you; Lilly…she used to tell me she loved you. Never doubt that."

Lilly looked up at the other girl. "I…I know she did…I…I forgive you Miley…because she asked me to and because you are my best friend. I forgive you but I am still mad at you for what you did. I can't forget that. And…I don't care what she said…I cannot love you as anything but a friend because of what you did. I forgive you, but I can never trust you again."

Miley smiled sadly and kissed Lilly's forehead, "I understand, Lilly. I…do you want me to go?"

Lilly hugged her tighter, "No, you big dumb country redneck, I want you to lay in bed with me and hold me while I cry my fucking eyes out for a while and then drive me to the hospital to see Natalie. She…she is going to need me now." Lilly pried herself away from Miley and looked up at the other girl and started crying again, "I…I need you, Miley, I am still angry at you but…but I need my best friend back right now. Hold me, Miley…please hold me."

"Anything for you, Lilly." Miley and Lilly lay in the bed and Lilly wrapped herself around Miley and cried.

Ms Truscott sat at the table holding Oliver's hand, "Why, Oliver, why would this girl do this? Why would my Lilly ever get involved with a girl like this? I am trying to understand how she could. How could this psychopathic girl do this and hurt my baby so much."

Oliver stood up and grabbed a role of paper towels and placed them next to Lilly's mother and sat back down. She gave him a questioning look. Oliver shrugged his shoulders and told Ms. Truscott what he knew of the girl. Ms. Truscott heard a little of the things from her daughter, but Lilly never told her of the rape she endured from her uncle and how bad the physical abuse Amber and Natalie suffered at the hands of the woman. She was glad Oliver gave her the paper towels as she cried at what the girls suffered and the heartbreak her daughter was going through.

Seattle Washington.

Hei Isuel was sitting at her breakfast table drinking her tea and reading the newspaper. She was a very attractive lady who was kind and caring and ran a strict household. But she was also an unhappy woman. Almost over a year ago she lost her only child to leukemia. Her lovely daughter, Hu-Ran, was only sixteen years old when the disease clamed her life shortly after she was diagnosed. Then the girl she loved as a daughter and Ran's best friend decided to live with an aunt and uncle she never met several months ago, her and her husband thought of and loved Amber St. Claire as their own daughter since the girl was five and that love grew only deeper after the poor girl's parents died when she was thirteen and she came to live with them since her brother and legal guardian was in the Marine Corp and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then when her brother died, her and her husband wanted to adopt the seventeen year old girl and looked as if they would until Amber suddenly decided to live with they uncle and aunt she never met. She left their home after some cruel words the Isuel's never blamed her for or believed she never meant and the girl moved away. Hei wrote her at least once almost every week but never got a reply. It was as if the girl dropped off the face of the earth to her. She felt as if another daughter of hers had died, but she still continued to write with hope.

Hei's morning reading was interrupted by her doorbell chiming and she made her way to the front door. She smiled kindly at the overnight delivery boy and signed for the package. She smiled happily when she saw the sender's name and almost ran back into the kitchen to open the envelope and package.

"Oh, Amber…it's about time." She muttered with a grin and opened the envelope first. As she read the letter her grin vanished from her face.

My dearest Hei and Byung,

I don't know were to even start. I don't even know what to say to the two people who loved me as a daughter and I loved as my own parents. Two wonderful people I miss so dearly and whose daughter I loved more than I could my own sister. I guess should start to say I am sorry….I am so very sorry. I am sorry for the pain I caused both of you. I said things I did not mean and I beg you to forgive me. I did not mean those terrible things I said. I did not mean it when I told you I was not your daughter and I did not love you. I did not mean it when I told you to leave me alone and the only reason you wanted me was to replace the daughter you lost. I can never replace Ran and I knew you wanted to adopt me because you loved me! I did not mean it when I said I hated the two of you and I never loved you. I do love you and will always love you! It broke my heart to say those things and I beg you for your forgiveness. I love the both of you so much! I made a terrible mistake in leaving the two of you, but thought it was the best. I…I will try and explain why….

Hei read the rest of the letter and tears came to her eyes as Amber wrote about the reason why she left, the physical abuse, the mental abuse, and the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her aunt and uncle. Amber did not go into details, but Hei got the picture. The Korean woman did not think her heart could break anymore, but reading the letter she knew she had been wrong. She had to put the letter down several times to sob and wipe her eyes before finishing it. There were only a few paragraphs left. One described the girl Natalie and how Amber fell in love with her and how sweet the girl was…

…and she is only eight years old and so smart and sweet and so beautiful like a living angel. Hei, she never knew what true love of parents can be like and I would like for you and Byung to change that. She is going to need parents now after what I have done. Please…meet her! I beg you to meet her and get to know her. She already knows the two of you from my stories and she knows about Ran. She worships Ran from listening to my stories and I know she will love you. Please…please…I beg you to meet her and try to adopt her. I don't know all the legal stuff involved but please do try. I know first hand the love the two of you can give. You gave it to me and I know she could not have better parents than the two of you. Please meet her and take her and care for her and love her the way I know you can...the way you loved me. She will be safe with you. Just do not let her forget Ran. She loves the story of how Ran and I met...tell it as I did. Please tell it to her so she will not forget the wonderful daughter the two of you had. The daughter I loved so much…." Hei chuckled through her tears as she read the story Amber told the girl of her meeting with Ran. She could not help but chuckle at the liberties Amber told in the story. It did not surprise her how Amber thought of her daughter. The two girls had a special bond and love and Hei knew Amber looked up to Ran in a lot of ways just as Ran looked up to Amber in certain ways. She read the last few paragraphs

I thought of how to tell you this and the best way is just to tell you. I killed Natalie's parents…my own uncle and aunt…tonight. I shot both of them several times and I know they are dead. I have no regrets and I had to…please know that! Please do not love me less for doing what I had to do it. I do not ask for forgiveness in killing them. I even enjoyed it after it was done. That may be wrong but they deserved it for what they have done. I did it for Natalie and not myself. I would have taken the abuse they gave me for as long as possible…at times I think I deserved the abuse for the things I did and the loses and pain I have caused others. But I could not allow that to happen to that poor girl. I know Natalie will never forgive me, how could she since as terrible as those two people were they were her parents. Just make sure she knows I do love her and I loved her to the end. And make sure she forgets me! She does not need to remember me or the person I have become. She deserves better than me!

The end…yes it is the end for me. Hei and Byung, the voices just are too much now. The voices I started to hear months ago. The voices of my mom and dad, of my brother, of my love Samantha, and of you sweet wonderful daughter Ran; they call to me and sent the White Lady to come and get me. I go to her soon so she may guide me to them. I have to, please understand. I have to go to them. I cannot resist it anymore and they are all so mean and cruel to me and promised they would love me again if I join them. Please forgive me for that, but also understand why I have to. I need them to love me again! I will be with then again and I will be able to have Ran hold me in her loving and protective embrace as we sleep as she did so many times when she was alive. Pray for me…pray to the God I stopped believing in a long time ago. And forgive me.

In the box are all the pictures I have kept over the years. Give them to Natalie. She loves them. Show them to her and tell their stories to her. Do not show her the ones of me…make her forget me!

I love you so much and never meant to hurt you. Thank you…thank you for being my mother and father if just for a little while.

Love with all my heart,

Amber

Hei Isuel let out a terrible scream of anguish after she read the last few paragraphs and crossed herself and said a prayer for Amber. She crumpled the letter in her hand as tears ran down her face. The Korean woman stood and almost fainted and had to sit back down to get her balance again. Hei stood once more on shaky legs and grabbed the phone off the wall. With trembling hands she dialed her husband's cell phone. She hung up when it went to voice mail and dialed his office number. It was picked up by his assistant. She took a deep breath to steady her voice.

"Melissa, this is Hei…I need to speak to Byung immediately."

"Yes, m'am…umm…he is in a meeting with a marketing company for the new commercials. Can I have him call you back?"

Hei was a very devote Catholic and very rarely cursed, but she let out a string of Korean curses to the young lady she always liked and then switched to English.

"Melissa, if you do not go into that damn room and get my husband on the phone right now…I swear it you will not be employed this afternoon. No go!"

"Y…yes, m'am." Melissa said in a scared voice and ran to the conference room. She knew her boss hated to be disturbed while in his meetings, but she always feared his attractive stern wife more than him. Plus she knew it had to be an emergency and the two lost so much over the past year, so she interrupted the meeting more out of affection for the two than fear.

Hei waited for her husband staring at the unopened box of pictures. She could not open them now and did not think she ever could. Her husband got on the phone.

"Hei, is everything alright? What is wrong, dear?" The man asked. He also knew his wife would not interrupt the meeting if it was not important.

Hei took another deep breath and spoke in Korean, "You need to come home right now! Call the airport and get us a flight to Malibu…unless you cannot get the company jet ready first. Do what is ever quicker. I will arrange a rental car for us. But get home as fast as possible! I will pack your clothes."

Byung knew when her heard Malibu it had to be Amber, "Hei, is she ok? What has happened to Amber? Oh, Jesus…is she ok?"

Hei broke down and started sobbing, "She…oh…Byung…she is…Oh God help her and us…she…no…no I cannot do this over the phone! Come home now! Please, husband…please come home now." Hei hung up the phone and sat back down and placed her head in her hands and wept. When her husband came home he found her still at the table sobbing. She had not moved. She looked up and ran to his arms, buried her head in his chest, and cried harder. After a few moments she stepped back and took a deep breath…and then another one.

"I…I must go pack. Are we flying the company jet or going commercial?"

"T…the company jet…it is already fueled and ready to go. Tell me, Hei…tell me what has happened to Amber."

Hei took the crumpled letter she still held and smoothed it out on the table calmly and handed it him. She left the kitchen before he could finish reading it. By the time she got to their bedroom and laid two suitcases on the bed, she heard an awful cry of pain and knew her husband was finished reading the letter. Her husband soon came into the bedroom with tears running down his check. She went to him and hugged him and comforted him as she led him to the bed to sit down. After a while he looked up at her.

"I…I can stand to lose another one, Hei…I can't take losing both Ran and Amber…I can't live like this. Do…do you think she is gone or…or maybe she is in a hospital. We…we have got to find out! We have to…" He stopped as his wife touched his cheeks with her small delicate hands and looked into his eyes. She also had been crying.

"Listen to me, husband who I love so dearly, we have to go. I…we will check the hospitals and with the police…but…but I think she is gone. I…I think she is no longer with us. But we go for two reasons, now. We go to bring her back to be buried next to her sweet parents and brother. We bring her back to her family. And we go to do as she asked us. The last favor she asks of us. We go to meet this girl Natalie and if possible we bring her home. Amber trusted us enough for that and we will not let her down."

She kissed her husband on both cheeks and stood to finish packing. Byung pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called his assistant Melissa and instructed her to call the police in Malibu and all the area hospitals.

Four months later.

Lilly Truscott stood on the Malibu Pier holding Miley Stewart's hand. In her other hand, Lilly held a letter written on hotel stationary. Miley held a single red rose in her free hand. Lilly gripped Miley's hand harder and tears started to run down her cheek. Lilly had loved the ocean and this pier as long as she could remember, but this was the first time in over four months she looked at it or walked it. It had been four months since she even set foot on the sand of the beach. The beach she loved to lay on and the ocean she loves to surf. The construction on the pier was complete and one could see not only the two girls but other people walking the pier and looking at the ocean. Miley looked at her beautiful friend she loved dearly. There friendship had been tested in the worse way and had survived. Miley still knew Lilly did not trust her as she used to, but also knew that would come back in time. Miley would wait for her as long as it took because Miley loved Lilly more than she ever loved anyone.

"Are you sure, Lilly?" Miley asked

Lilly looked up at her and smiled through her tears, "Yeah, Miles, it's time. I…I need to let her go now." Miley smiled and nodded.

Lilly let go of the paper and the wind took it and it flew into the ocean as it danced on the wind current. Lilly's eyes followed the paper until it hit the water and did not turn her head until the waves made it disappear. She looked again at Miley and nodded. Miley brought the rose to her lips and kissed it and then placed it on Lilly's to allow her to kiss the red petals. She then tossed the single red rose into the water and put her arm around her friend. Lilly smiled.

"Can we just stay here for a while, Miley…just hug me and stay with me for a while and not talk."

"Sure thing, baby, I am here for you as long as you need."

After close to an hour Lilly wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. She looked up at Miley who had held her the entire time. "My mom dated a police officer a while back and she asked him to look into some thing about Amber, did you know that, Miley?" Miley shook her head, startled at the sudden words. "You know my mom…she can get obsessive about things. Anyway, this police officer said that after…after she died…they investigated some things and her journals and had some doctors…psychologist…examine everything and they concluded she was sycophantic. That was why she heard voices and saw hallucinations. They said with all the loss and abuse she suffered it just triggered something in her mind." Lilly paused and again wiped the tears from her eyes. "My mom said regardless of what I tried to do I could never have helped her. She needed professional help. I…I loved her, Miley." Lilly wrapped her arms around her friend and looked into her eyes. "I need you to know that. You have to know I did love her and still do in a way..."

"I know, Lills…I know you did."

"I…you have to know that and not be jealous of her, Miley. Promise me…whatever happens and how many times I cry until I am fully healed…don't be jealous of her."

Miley looked confused but nodded, "Ok…I have no idea what you are talking about, but I won't be…I promise." In truth Miley was jealous every time Lilly cried on her shoulder and mourned the girl, but Miley never complained. She would wait as long as Lilly needed.

Lilly reached up and pushed Miley's hair back from her face that the wind blew. "Miles, my mom is out of town for the next several days."

"Umm…Ok…do you want to spend the night with me?"

"No, I want you to spend the next few days at my house."

Lilly moved Miley's arms from her shoulder and wrapped one around her waist and the other so the brown haired girl's hand rested on her butt. Lilly then leaned up and kissed a stunned Miley on the lips. It did not take Miley long to open her mouth and allow Lilly's tongue to enter her parted lips. The two girls kissed for a long time and Lilly pulled back and smiled up at the other girl.

"Wow…umm…ok…what was that for…not that I did not enjoy it…hell…I loved it...but why?" Miley asked.

Lilly smiled and her fingers played with a necklace that hung down on Miley's chest. "You would have waited forever, wouldn't you have, Miley." Miley nodded, she knew what Lilly meant.

"That is why I love you…because you would have waited for me forever. Amber was right. I would know when the time was right and the time is right. Take me home Miley Stewart and make love to me and comfort me." Lilly kissed the girl again and Miley held her tight and kissed her back. Soon the two girls were smiling and walking hand in hand and off the pier and up the beach to Miley's car.

"Have you heard from Natalie?" Miley asked as the girls walked hand in hand.

"Yeah…I called her his morning to…well…I just wanted to hear from her before we came out here. She is a part of this…a huge part of Amber and me…and even you Miley."

Miley nodded, "Lilly, why did your mom give up custody of her? She was appointed her guardian and I thought she was going to try and adopt her?"

Lilly smiled at the girl she loved as they walked, "Well…I asked her to and not to adopt her."

Miley stopped and pulled Lilly to a halt also. She looked at her friend in shock, "What…I thought you wanted her as your sister and…wow…I thought you wanted your mom to adopt her?"

"Yeah…I did at first…I love Natalie and she is like my sister but she needed more. I met the Isuels…the people Amber lived with after her parents died and the couple she wanted Natalie to live with…and they are wonderful people. They came to visit Natalie almost everyday and Natalie grew fond of them. Then I thought how I would be going to college next year and away from home and of course I am going with you on your European Tour for a couple of months and…well…I won't be home with her. Plus mom already raised one child and she deserves some time for herself. Natalie would have a better childhood with both a mom and dad and then there is…well…Amber. Natalie adored her and worshipped her and living with the Isuels she would get a chance to know the real Amber. The Amber I did not get to know. It would be better for her." Lilly paused and looked at the ocean again, "Plus…Natalie wanted to go. She was afraid to tell me, but I saw it and the way she attached herself to the Isuels and looked forward to their visits, I knew she wanted to go. I promised her I would stay in touch with her…and I will. I will visit her and she will visit me and when she graduates high school I will be on the front row clamping my cute ass off."

Miley brought Lilly's hand to her lips and kissed it. "I love you Lilly Truscott. You are a wonderful person."

Lilly shrugged and the two girls started walking again to Miley's car.

Miley drove in silence as Lilly held her hand. She was afraid to talk or even look at the other girl in case Lilly changed her mind. She loved Lilly for years and did not want to lose her again. Lilly held her hand and ran her fingers gently over the top of them and Miley shivered at the touch. She smiled when Lilly brought her hand to her lips and kissed it, running her tongue across it.

"Ouch! Shit, Lilly, what was that for!" Miley shouted as Lilly bit her hand. She looked at Lilly and saw the blonde was leaning against the passenger door seductively and with a mischievous smile across her lips.

"Well…I still owe you for fucking my girl friend and that was a start."

Miley looked sad, "Lilly…I…I will never forgive myself for that. I am…Ouch! What the hell, Lilly…that hurt!" Lilly bit her hand again. Miley was getting angry. Since they renewed their friendship, Lilly never brought up what Miley and Amber did but Miley knew it still hurt her friend and that made her sad.

"Shut up, Miley!" Lilly teased, "I have decided how I am going to get even. You and I are going to date and make love as much as possible because I do love you. But I during our relationship I am going to fuck someone else to get even and I have someone in mind already."

Miley pulled the car over with screeching brakes and came to a fast stop. She turned to Lilly, who was still smiling, "If you think I am going to let you…argh! Lilly…I…who…who are you going to fuck so I can fucking kick her ass! Tell me!" Miley screamed and Lilly moved herself closer and put her arms around Miley and caressed her cheek.

"Why, Miley…getting mad? Are you jealous?" Lilly teased and smiled at Miley. "Well…I do have a girl in mind. I always wanted to fuck…well…I always wanted Hannah Montana."

Miley smiled and relaxed at the game, "Is that right…well…you know Hannah is a virgin…but maybe…just maybe I can talk to her and see if she will at least go on a date with you."

Lilly giggled and shook her head, "Nope…I am going to fuck her one day…I am going to fuck her until she begs she cannot handle it anymore."

Miley smiled, "Well…I also thought Lolo was sexy as well…maybe I could do her?"

Lilly laughed, "Oh…maybe…but Lolo is a whore. She gets laid all the time. She goes to bars and picks up scores of men or women and goes home with them." Lilly teased and saw Miley get angry again.

"What! Who has she been with? I want to know right now!"

Lilly laughed harder, "Damn, Miles, you jealousy is going to cause you to have a stroke…I was just teasing. She is still a virgin too, but she wants to be a whore to one person." Lilly kissed Miley's hand seductively again and the brown haired girl relaxed. Lilly then leaned over and grabbed Miley's face and kissed her. While they were kissing, Lilly moved her hand and dropped Miley's seat down and the other girl let out a squeal as she fell backwards. Lilly climbed on top of her and started kissing her neck ignoring Miley's pleas that people could see them. Lilly gently bit Miley's neck and after the girl let out a gasp of pleasure and pain, Lilly bit her harder and Miley gasped louder and begged for more. Lilly leaned her head up and grinned as she looked into Miley's brown eyes.

"Yes, I will have Hannah and maybe you can have Lolo, but right now I want it to be only Lilly Truscott and Miley Stewart…forever." Lilly rolled off Miley and put her seat belt back on and took the other girl's hand again and kissed it. "Now, take me home and fuck my brains out, let me cry in your arms, and fuck my brains out again. I never want to leave the bed. Help me heal, Miley." Miley did not say a word and lifted her seat and drove home in a hurry.

"Miley?" Lilly said as Miley drove way over the speed limit.

"Yeah, baby."

"I love you Miley…I love you very much."

Miley smiled as she drove to Lilly's house and the thought of spending several days in bed making love to the girl she loved.

Seattle Washington

It had taken a little over three months and a lot of time in court for the Isuels to become the legal guardians of Natalie. Hei stayed in Malibu the entire time while her husband flew back and forth to run his business and get the essentials his wife needed while away. Both had gotten to know Natalie very well and grew to love the small girl intensely. They met the girl who Natalie lived with and her mother and it they thought it was fortunate Amber met such a sweet and caring person in Lilly and they mourned with the girl who loved their Amber very much. They were also grateful the girl and her mother decided to allow them to try and become foster parents of Natalie. The court finally awarded them custody after their attorney showed the judge the letter Amber wrote them. Hei did not want the letter seen since it mentioned things about Amber she felt would shame the girl, but their attorney assured her it would help so she relented. Then the judge asked Natalie herself if she wanted to live with the Isuels and Hei wept in the courtroom when the girl answered "yes very much" without hesitation. They brought Natalie a large amount of new clothes and took her home to Seattle. She had gotten used to the Korean couple but when she entered their house the girl felt fear again. Hei sat her down at the kitchen table and gave her some cookies and milk and sat with her and took her hand in hers.

"Natalie, don't be scared, honey…this is your home now. I want you to be happy here."

Natalie smiled shyly, she had come to love this man and woman and even got over the awe she felt at the presence of the lovely Ran's mother and father and the two people who loved her wonderful Amber so much, "Yes, ma'm…I…I am just a little confused. Are you my mommy and daddy now?'

Hei smiled, "Yes it is confusing…all that legal talk. Well…we are your guardians which means we take care of you. We would love to adopt you and become your mother and father…but it takes time. The court has to send people to check up on you and make sure you are safe and treated well. And of course it depends on you…if you want to live here and like for us to be your mommy and daddy."

Natalie smiled but did not answer; her attention was distracted as she stared out the kitchen window to the back yard. Her young blue eyes were drawn to the play set with swings and slide.

"Wow…that is so neat! Can I go play on them, ma'm?" Hei smiled, ever since she met the child, the girl called her m'am and nothing else and her husband sir. She stated proudly over and over that Amber taught her manners and how to be a lady. Hei would smile at the girl when she announced this and told her she had an excellent teacher since Amber was a perfect lady herself.

"Yes, we can go play on them. Byung had them all fixed and redone when we found out you would come home with us. Ran and Amber used to play on those exact same swings." Hei chuckled at the memory and Natalie's eyes grew wide and she started at the play set in wonder, "You should have seen them. Ran was such a daredevil and tomboy and would push Amber until she was screaming not to go any higher. I would have to scold Ran about tormenting poor Amber on the swings. Amber was never as brave as Ran was." Hei smiled at Natalie, "What was also humorous was that while I would be scolding Ran, Amber would ask me to leave her alone and defend her. After Ran had the poor child in tears out of fear she would still defend her friend."

"They loved each other a lot, huh?" Natalie asked. She knew they did from Amber's stories but she wanted to hear someone else say it.

Hei smiled wider and fondly. "Oh yes, I wish you could have seen the two together…even as they were older. They had such love and a bond no one could ever break. The only time I ever saw my Hu-Ran cry as a teenager was when she and Amber had a terrible fight and she thought Amber did not love her anymore. They were very wonderful together. Now, let's go put your things in your room and go outside and play." Hei took the girls hand and led her to her room while she carried one of Natalie's small suitcases.

"M'am, you are wrong about Amber. She was the bravest girl I ever met. She…she did things to protect me…things that made her get hurt very badly so I would be safe. She was very brave."

Hei nodded and thought about what Amber must have endured and what this little girl saw that no little child should ever see and wanted to cry, but she held her emotions in front Natalie. The small girl was already scared in the new house and she did not frighten the girl by breaking into tears.

"Yes…I should not have said that…Amber was very brave about a lot of things in life. She took chances Ran never would have taken. Amber took chances on people and her heart, while Ran was always afraid to do that; it was something Ran envied in Amber and admired about her."

Natalie smiled as they approached the bedroom door, which was shut, and Hei smiled at the girl again, "Here we go. This used to be Ran's room and then Ambers…of course when Amber stayed with us when Ran was alive they always slept in here together. So it was always both their rooms." Hei opened the door and led the girl in. Natalie stood and stared in the room awe stricken. Ever since Amber first told her about Ran she would try and vision where Ran slept and the bedroom where her goddess Ran would put her arms around her friend Amber and sleep, protecting the girl Natalie loved as dear as a sister. The room stayed unchanged after Ran died; Amber did not want to change a thing so she could remember her friend. Natalie took in every poster on the wall, she looked at the pictures on the nightstand in wonder, and she ran to the shelf that held the trophies Ran won in the sports she played. She wanted to take some down and hold them, but she was afraid to. She was scared to hold the sacred items she heard so much about. She looked at the bed.

"M'am…can I lay down on the bed? Just for a little while."

Hei chuckled, "Of course, sweetie, this is your room now. We can change anything you want in it."

Natalie clapped her hands in glee and carefully took off her small high heels and lay on the bed. "No…I want to keep it just the same. I do not want to change a thing." She said as she rolled on the bed and giggled as she took a pillow from under the blanket and took a deep sniff. She frowned and looked up at the Korean lady she was growing to love a great deal. "It doesn't smell like she said it did." She pouted.

"Smell? I don't understand, child." Hei said as she sat on the edge of the bed and pushed the fine golden hair from Natalie's face.

"Yeah, Amber said it smelled like vanilla…like Ran. She said it was the greatest smell in the world."

Hei smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, baby, but things like that fade in time. Amber…well…Amber sometimes embellished her stories about Ran, I'm afraid."

Natalie giggled, "I know…I know some of the things were not true. Like how Ran would shoot golden beams of light from her eyes when protecting Amber from evil people…but I never said anything because it made Ams happy to tell me those things. I like your stories about them because they are so real. I…I just wished it smelled like Ran so I could pretend to be Amber and remember her greatest friend in the world."

Hei chuckled, "Yes she may have exaggerated some things, but that was how Amber saw her. But I bet I have some of the lotion and shampoo Ran used and if not I know the kind and we will get you some to use."

"Really? Oh, that would be great! Maybe I could use the kind Amber used one day and then the next day the kind Ran used."

"Of course dear," Mrs. Isuel chucked again, "but we have to buy Amber's at a special store. God forbid if that girl ever had to use shampoo or lotion or makeup from just anywhere."

Natalie giggled and looked on the night stand and grabbed a picture off the top. She stared at it for a long time, "They were both so very beautiful. Both of them were so lovely." She held the photo up and it was one Ran always kept on her nightstand. It was a picture of the two girls when Ran turned sixteen. Both girls were dressed in lovely cocktail dresses and wearing long evening gloves. Hei chuckled.

"Yes, they were the prettiest two girls I ever saw. That one was taken at Ran's sixteenth birthday. After her party, Amber told her she had a special present to give her and the next day Amber made Ran dress up and took out to a day at the spa, a makeover, and then to a fancy dinner to a tea room. Ran complained about being so dressed up and argued with Amber at the spa when they fixed her hair and put makeup on her. She fussed the entire time…but deep down she loved it. She loved that Amber dressed her up and took her to get a makeover. She told me later it was the best birthday present she ever got."

Natalie looked at the woman, "You miss them a lot, don't you?"

"Yes, sweetie, I miss my girls so much. It makes me sad at times when I think of them. But…It also makes me happy when I talk about them with you."

Natalie suddenly hugged Hei and started crying. "I miss her, M'am, I miss her so much. She was the best friend I ever had. I loved her…I loved her a great deal. I…I hope she knows I do not hate her for what she did. I could never hate her. I…I feel so terrible about…about being here!"

Hei patted the girl's back gently, "She knows, baby, she knows you love her. Now why, Natalie…why do you feel bad about being here?"

Natalie sniffled and wiped her eyes, "Because I think I am going to love it here…and…Amber had to do the things she did for me to be here. If…if she never would have loved me she would still be alive. I…I feel like it is my fault she did what she did."

Hei hugged the girl tighter, "No, baby, do not think that…please do not think that. Poor Amber…well…she was sick in a way and it is not your fault. She loved you a great deal. She wrote me and told me she loved you so much. Please don't blame yourself…please. Do you remember when I said Amber was brave about certain things like giving her heart and love…well she gave it to you when she thought she could not ever love again. Be proud of that, Natalie, be proud that you got her love." Hei begged the girl and felt tears in her own eyes. Natalie pulled back and wiped her eyes again.

"Yes, m'am…I…I am proud that she loved me…I just miss her so much."

"Me too, baby…now let's go play on those swings."

Natalie smiled and like an average eight year old her sadness seemed to vanish and she jumped off the bed followed Hei outside. She went up and down the slide several times laughing and then climbed through the twists and turns of the play set and then begged Hei to swing her. As Hei was swinging her she kept begging to go higher over and over again.

"Higher! Higher! Swing me higher, mommy!" Natalie yelled and then slowed when she noticed Hei stopped pushing her and was crying. The girl jumped from the swing and ran to the woman and hugged her.

"I…I did not mean to scare you…I'm sorry." Natalie found herself being hugged tightly.

"No, sweetie…you…you called me mommy and…and I am happy you called me that. I wanted you to call me that for a long time."

Natalie hugged her back, "I love you and I want you to be my mommy and sir to be my daddy. I love the both of you and promise to be as good as Ran and Amber were. I want to be just like them"

Hei laughed, "Oh no, child, I don't know if I could handle a mixture of both of them. Trust me…they were not all good all the time. Those two girls got into some messes when growing up. Don't let Amber's stories of their saint like behavior fool you. I will have to tell you some of the things they did while growing up. But I want you to grow up and to be you and yourself…and I promise you, I will love you so much and my husband will love you as well. But I want you to grow up and be Natalie."

Natalie giggled, "Ohhh…Sounds like some more stories about them I did not know about. Mommy, could you sit next to me and tell me a story of the lovely Ran and the beautiful Amber."

Hei got to her feet and grabbed the girl's small hand, "Yes I can do that, Natalie, what story would you like to hear?"

Natalie grinned, "How they met! I want to hear how they met!" She cried out as the two sat on the play set and Hei told her how the lovely Ran met the beautiful Amber…the way Amber used to tell it.

End

A/N – For those curious about the White Lady – she is a ghost found in legends in countries around the world as a harbinger of death. She is the ghost of a woman who suffered much trauma in her life.