Let mehear you say it." Looona." She smiled; it felt good rolling off her tongue. Warm."Excellent, now that's settled, let's talk. I do not mean to...beforward, but I've noticed you are struggling with personal issues. Isthere anything I can do to help?"Cassandra's eyes widened; was it so obvious that a relative strangercould pick it out? She must suck at being female."Yeah, I've been going through some ...changes, and feel lost. I doubtthere's anything you can do, other than help me avoid. It was a breathtaking inky black, with white down its belly and splashed down its muzzle and chin. The tip of its bushy tail was also the same ivory color. The eyes, though, were a bright, beautiful yellow. I knew that this, this was the one. I'd settled it in my mind now, there was no question. It was mine."This is it." I whispered to Thell. "I'm going to do it." He nodded silently. I began the ritual again. Concentrating on every trick Ian had taught me, everything I had learned from this. Until one day, everything went for a toss.It was mid-year vacation and school was off. I needed some certificates from our Head and hence had to go to school. As usual, it was silent and nobody was seen on our campus except a few workers. I enquired in the office and was told the Head would come only next week.I just thought why not have a ‘tour’ of my classrooms and library and see if I can find any teacher or someone to talk with. As my classroom was on the 2nd floor, I took the stairs. There. Jill envied her briefly, before remembering that she *was* her and sinking even deeper into that state of perfect calm. ‘Good girl,’ Miles said softly. Jill shivered slightly, remembering how much she loved that warm, coaxing tone of voice that she always loved to forget as much as she loved to remember. Her gaze unfocused, giving the eyes in the mirror a soft glow as the tiny reflections on her eyeball merged into a sea of sparkling light. ‘It’s so…beautiful,’ Jill whispered, overcome by awe.