The day went well, until the afternoon – Raine was still pretty pooped, so he stayed at Mrs. McCarthy’s while I walked to the hospital.

It was slightly chilly outside, so I had to take a small windbreaker with me. Scooter had meowed the house down when he saw me leaving, but I wanted to see papa – rain, snow or sleet.

My thoughts could be coined in a tiny phrase : swirling abyss. I didn’t know what to think.

Everything was just all too confusing.

The missing person sign, papa getting leukemia, Mrs. McCarthy still being there…well, the last one I was kind of expecting – Mrs. McCarthy’s the kind of person who plants her roots firmly, if you get my drift.

I walked past an electronics store with a large plasma TV turned to the news channel; the news anchor was droning behind the thick glass.

At first, I simply walked past, and then, like in the comics, I did a huge double take.

I practically pressed my face to the glass.

A picture of Raine was on the news channel!