“Remember your gift, now let your life shine,” part of it had been. No — “let your light shine,” not “life.” Why couldn’t she remember more of the words? The bed didn’t feel right. Rachel didn’t seem to be up yet, so she turned over drowsily for more sleep. But the bed really didn’t feel right. It was … wet. She sat up in a hurry. For a horrified moment she didn’t know where she was. “Thee’s awake!” a small person said cheerfully, and crawled into her lap. Suddenly Alyssa’s lap was wet too. The little girl looked up at her with big grey eyes. “Why are thy fingernails blue?” she asked. “And thy toenails too?” Alyssa looked around the bedroom. It was a boxy room, and the ceiling slanted down on the side with the window. The walls were papered with wide, pale pink stripes. There was a chest of drawers against one wall, with a mirror on top, and near the door, a series of hooks holding girls’ dresses of different sizes.
