Author Interview by                 Shiloh Walker

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Prologue
Denver, Colorado

     Nine year old Jennifer scraped her knee as she struggled to reach the last branch to rescue her kitten from the top of the huge tree. Puffing with exertion after she had Mordora safe in her arms, Jennifer looked below and saw the new boy from next door.
     You must be Jennifer," he called, shading his eyes with his hand as he stared up at her.
     She felt her face turn red and hastily tucked her red skirt between her legs. "Who told you my name?"
     "Your cousin, Tyler."
     Jennifer frowned, even though Uncle Mac said she shouldn't because she might grow up with permanent wrinkles.
     "Who're you?" she asked, although she already knew.
     "Dirk. We just moved in next door to your aunt and uncle."
     "I live here, too," she blurted.
     "Yeah. I know. Tyler told me."
     Jennifer frowned again. She hated sharing Tyler with anybody, except Kacy. Like her, Kacy was an orphan. She lived with her grandparents a few blocks away. They had been best friends since kindergarten, and both vowed they always would be.
     "Can I come up and help rescue your kitten?" Dirk asked.
     "Sure." Jennifer tucked her dress more firmly between her legs and squeezed them tighter together. Even though she thought they were beautiful, Aunt Rachel would give her holy heck if she let a boy see her new lace-trimmed underpants.
     Dirk climbed fast, and Jennifer admired his agility. When he reached her, he leaned against a sturdy limb and hooked his thumbs in his Levi belt loops. "Tyler said you had unusual eyes, but he didn't say they were pretty."
     People often teased Jennifer about her speckled green eyes but nobody ever said they were pretty. "You like them?" she asked, uncertain.
     Dirk nodded. "They remind me of my opal, Jeni."
     Flustered, she resisted the urge to ask why and blurted, "Nobody calls me Jeni."
     "Good. That's what I'll call you, then."
     He had a nice grin. Even white teeth, too. She bet he brushed every morning and night, as Aunt Rachel said everybody should. His pale blond hair reminded her of Kacy's white-haired guardian angel. She'd only seen Rey once, but she'd never forget the jolly, wingless angel.
     Dirk stood so close Jennifer could smell his skin--clean like pine-scented soap and shampoo. He looked a couple of years older than her, probably eleven or twelve, the same age as Tyler.
     "Can I carry your kitten down?"
     She nodded and cautiously extended Mordora, careful not to let go of her fluffy orange-brown pet until Dirk had a good hold.
     "Why don't you climb down first and show me the way?"
     "Okay." Grateful for his help and relieved he wouldn't see under her dress, Jennifer decided she might not mind sharing Tyler with Dirk after all.
     When they reached the ground he handed Mordora back to her.
     "Thanks," she said.
     "You're welcome."
     Her scraped knee stung. She looked down and saw blood trickling from the open gash.
     "You're hurt." Dirk pulled a white handkerchief from his back pocket and squatted in front of her.
     While he wiped her bloody leg, Jennifer readjusted her squirming kitten to keep her claws from scratching her face.
     A few seconds later Dirk stood back up and stuffed the waded handkerchief back in his pocket. "It's stopped bleeding."
     "Thanks,' she said again.
     "Why don't you thank me with a kiss?"
     Jennifer's young heart gave a funny lurch. She wanted to kiss him badly, but she'd never kissed a boy before. Did she dare?
     Before she lost her nerve, she arched up on her tiptoes. He stood a head taller than her and she couldn't reach his mouth, so she aimed for his chin.
     He caught her cheeks with his hands and placed his mouth on hers. It wasn't much of a kiss, just a peck actually, but Jennifer closed her eyes. And lost her young heart.
     When they pulled apart, she felt dizzy. Woozy. Excited.
     His expression turned somber. "Tyler said you were terrific, but I don't know if I agree."
     "Why--not?" Jennifer hated the stupid warble in her voice. It sounded like she was about to cry.
     "Because I think you're more than terrific, Jeni, I think you're perfect. And I'm glad I found you."
     Jennifer blinked. "Found me? What does that mean?"
     "We knew each other before. Don't you remember?"
     Her heart pounded faster than she could play the scales on the piano while visions of prior lives flashed in her young head. She gulped in awe. "I-I-I knew you before. . .?"
     "Several times." Dirk grinned, and she wanted to hug him something fierce. He had remembered her as he'd promised!
     "Will you do me a favor?" he asked.
     She flashed a grin. "If I can."
     "I like your long hair. Don't ever cut it."
     Proud of her waist-long cinnamon-brown hair, she vowed, "I'll keep it long for you, always, Dirk."
     When he grinned again, she worked up her nerve to ask, "Will you do me a favor?"
     "If I can," he turned her words back on her.
     "Will you marry me when we grow up?" She blushed at her daring, and expected him to tease her.
     Instead he said, "You bet."
     From his pocket he dug out a stone that resembled murky crystal, but as he exposed it to the sun, the stone reflected every color in the rainbow. "My guardian angel said this opal would guide me to you. Now that it has, I want you to keep it. If we're parted again, it will help you find me."
     Dirk winked, and a delicious warmth curled around Jennifer as a vision--her special gift--showed them in the future, all grown up. Dirk sported a mustache, and in spite of her youth, she knew by the look in their eyes that they were deeply in love and very happy.
     Music coming from a CD in her aunt and uncle's house played, "Lay your head upon my pillow and make believe--"
     "That's our song," Dirk said. "When we grow up, we'll get married and you can lay your head on my pillow whenever you want to."
     Mesmerized by her new neighbor and the visions she'd had, Jennifer didn't realize Aunt Rachel had opened the door until she called, "Jennifer, didn't you hear me? Kacy would like to talk to you on the phone."
     "I'll be right there." Cuddling her precious kitten close, Jennifer backed away. "I'll see you later, Dirk."
     "Yes, you will," he promised.
     Budging Mordora's paws off her arm to protect herself from the kitten's sharp claws, Jennifer gripped the opal tight and smiled again.
     Dirk smiled too and winked. "I think I'm going to be crazy about you, Jeni."
     "I think I'm going to feel the same way about you."
     Her happy heart sang merrily as she turned and skipped away, anxious to tell Kacy all about the boy she had known in previous lives who had just agreed to marry her. And then they'd live happily ever after, just like in all the fairy tales.

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