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"Shouldn't you be home in case Mr. Enslow calls?" asked Charlie, trying to give Adam an easy excuse for leaving.

"I gave him my cell phone number," explained Adam, taking the phone from his pocket.

"Well," said Charlie, "I'm going to go get some air."

"Do you want me to come, Pumpkin?" asked Chuck.

"No, you stay here, Daddy. I'll be back in a while."

The March desert wind blew in small gusts around Charlie as she walked down the street and turned onto a small dirt path leading away from the houses. In the distance, low hanging clouds sailed across the desert sky, reflecting the hues of sunset with brilliant pinks and deep oranges. Charlie drank in the natural surroundings as though she were back home in Montana, wandering through her favorite fields, and enjoying the serenity of being alone.

It had taken a while, but Charlie had come to appreciate the rugged and sometimes barren climate of the Mojave Desert. It had an untamed openness that Charlie found intriguing, and yet there was a delicate side to the desert that was almost vulnerable. She recalled how Chad had told her that if sufficient rain didn't come during the winter months, drought would follow in the summer, baking the parched land into a hardness that only weeds could penetrate.

Charlie put a hand over her eyes and looked off into the fading horizon. A jackrabbit scurried off to its burrow, leaving the desert to the nocturnal hunters while it slept. In the summer, some days were so hot, that even creatures that hunted for food by day, would wait until night before foraging. A Northern Mockingbird trilled and trebled nearby, as if showing off its ability to mimic dozens of bird songs in rapid succession. While Charlie marveled at it's deftness, a coyote cried in the distance. Charlie looked up into the darkening sky, and decided it was time to start back home.

Instead of taking the shorter route home by which she had come, Charlie decided to take the long way, knowing that she had a full hour yet before darkness would overtake the Mojave.

As the teenager came to the second turn in the dirt road, she noticed a solitary figure standing near the edge of an embankment. Curious, Charlie came closer, and as she did, the figure jumped back in surprise.

"Cathy!" shouted the stranger, running up to meet Charlie in the road. As the young woman drew near to where Charlie stood, a look of disappointment crossed her face. "I thought Cathy had come back to me," she mumbled, returning to her place on the embankment.

Charlie suddenly recognized who the stranger was. Intrigued, Charlie came closer and looked down the slope to what Jessica was staring at. A scorched tree stood out prominently on the side of the embankment. It was then that Charlie knew she had stumbled upon the place where the accident had occurred. Charlie observed Jessica in the light of the remaining twilight. She was wearing a long knit purple sweater that covered the top and back of her hospital gown. Her wrists were bandaged, and in her hand she clutched a photograph of someone who looked remarkably like Charlie.

"Is that Cathy?" asked Charlie, venturing a question.

"Where?" asked Jessica.

"The picture," said Charlie, pointing to the photo.

Jessica looked at Charlie with renewed curiosity.

"Who are you?" asked Jessica.

Charlie thought for a minute. Should she say who she was? or would it be best to leave the question unanswered? Seeing how long it was taking for Charlie to respond, Jessica was becoming suspicious.

"Who are you?" she repeated.

"I'm Charlie."

"You're the one I spoke to on the phone, today?" asked Jessica.

"Yeah," mumbled Charlie, not proud of what she had done.

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