"No, I can't." She screamed. She was terrified that she would fall.

"Yes, you can sweetheart. Just reach out with your right hand and grab mine." The blond man pleaded. The man was trying not to let her know he was terrified, but when Laura looked into her rescuer's deep blue eyes she saw that he was as afraid as she was.

"I'll fall." She whimpered as she clung tightly to the rope.

"You have trust me. Please give me your hand." The man pleaded again as he stretched out as far as he could to reach her, but he was not close enough. He needed her to help.

Slowly she released her right hand from the rope. She reached toward the man's outstretched arm while she clutched with all her might to the rope with her left arm. Her hand was within inches of his when the rope broke; she fell. That is when she awoke.

Why was she now having the same dream that she use to dream, over and over again, seven years ago when she was eight? Then her thoughts returned to the events of yesterday.

When Aunt Mae and her cousin, Karen arrived a week ago for a visit Laura was thrilled to have another girl her age to play with. She had a couple of younger brothers, but no sisters so it was nice that Karen and her mother were going to be spending the summer with them. For the past week the two girls were inseparable; they did everything together.

Yesterday morning Laura's father had to go into town for some business, so her mother and Aunt Mae went with him to do some shopping. Her two brothers went with them leaving the two girls at home alone. They spent the morning doing their chores that had to be done with plans of going for a ride in the afternoon, but before they were finished their chores it had started to rain.

"Well there goes our ride." Karen whined as she looked out the window at the rain pouring down.

"I guess we should have went this morning, but I wanted to get my chores done first." Laura apologized as she too looked out at the rain. "I guess we will have to find something else to do this afternoon."

"We could go up to the attic and look around." Karen suggested.

"Why would you want to spend time in a dusty old attic?" Laura asked.

"When I was visiting my Grandparents place they had a lot of interesting things in the attic. It was fun going through all their old stuff." Karen explained

"Okay if you really want to we will go look around the attic, but I don't think we will find anything interesting. We probably will only find a nest of mice." Laura reluctantly agreed to go up to the dark dusty attic.

Laura picked up an oil lamp off the end table in the living room and led her curious cousin up the stairs to the attic. At the attic door she stopped and turned to her cousin as she nervously asked. "Are you sure you want to go in there?"

"Oh! Quit being a baby. Nothing is going to hurt you in there. Come on it will be fun." Karen said as she pushed open the door and entered. Laura followed her cousin into the room. She stood by the door holding the lamp while her black headed cousin started rummaging though an old chest.

"Look what I found. I think it is your mother's diary." Karen's brown eyes danced with excitement as she help up the journal she found in the chest. "Lets read it."

"I don't think we should. It is my mother's private thoughts. I don't think she would want us to read it, so put it back and lets get out of here." Laura tried to convince her cousin not to read the journal. Karen refused to put the book back instead she opened it and began to read.

Laura walked over to where Karen sat in the middle of the room on the chest. She was about to grab her mother's journal from her cousin when the dark hair girl suddenly let out a shocked gasp and turned white.

"What is wrong?" Laura asked.

Karen didn't answer; she just stared at her blonde cousin as if she was looking at a ghost. Laura grabbed the book from Karen. As she read the page that the journal was open to a chill ran up her spine.

Dear Diary:

Ben and I buried our beloved daughter, Laura today. God took her home to be with him about four in the morning. I am so angry with God. I know I should not be, but how could he take my eight-year-old daughter away from me. How could he need her more than I do?

Molly

Laura stared at the tear stained page. Her mother was talking about her, but how could that be. Laura turned the pages with trembling hands as she continued to read. In the entries for the following days her mother wrote about the emptiness and longing for the child she had lost. The difficulty she had believing that her child was dead. How some days she would stare at the front door expected her dark haired child to come racing into the house with something exciting that the girl found to show her, then the realization that her daughter was not coming home would hit her.

Laura turned the page to an entry made about a month after the first entry she read.

Dear Diary:

Today Ben returned with Laura. Was I relieved to see my lost child it seems like forever since I held her in my arms? Ben told me he found her wondering around down by the river. I should have scolded her for running so far away from home, but I was so glad to see her that I just hugged her Tightly and thanked God that she was home.

Laura must have slipped and hit her head because she has a gash over her right eye, but other than that and being extremely exhausted she seems fine. I wish we lived closer to a doctor I would feel better if we could have her looked at just to make sure she will be all right, but our nearest doctor is 70 miles away. I am sitting here watching my blonde little girl sleep in her own bed as I write this. I don't ever want to let her out of my sight again.

Molly

Laura didn't understand what she read none of it made sense. In one entry her mother claims that they buried her; in another entry she says that Laura had run away. What had really happened? Why did her mother at first talk about her having black hair then latter having blonde? How did she get down to the river where her father had found her? Why was she now dreaming the same nightmare that haunted her when she was eight? Who was the man in her dreams? Most of all who was she?

Laura got up and lit the lamp on the nightstand beside her bed. She then picked it up and left her room. She walked slowly toward the attic door; not really knowing why she was going there; for answers maybe. She entered the room, walked over to the chest where they had found the diary, lifted the lid and started to search through it. At the bottom of the chest she found a small box. She lifted it out of the chest. When she opened it she found a gold oval shaped locket with a rose etched on the front. She had a sudden memory that her father and mother had given her this locket. When she turned it over she found that it was engraved.

She carefully read what it said. 'To Amy Love Papa and Mama.' The Locket belongs to some one named Amy, so why did she think it was hers? She wondered as she slowly opened the locket to reveal the picture of a beautiful woman on one half of the locket. When she looked at the other picture in the locket a strange chill came over her as she realized that the man in the picture was the blond man in her dreams.

"Amy! Its time to get up."

Amy rolled over to her side curling into a ball as she pulled the covers over her head trying to block out her mother's wake up call. She hated mornings especially the mornings that she had to go to school. As she snuggled deeper under the warm covers and started to drift back to sleep, she remembered that today was her Birthday; she was now eight years old. Today was not a morning to lay in bed trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep it was a day that she needed to be on time if she wanted to open her presents before going to school. She threw back the covers as she sat up. She quickly dressed then grabbed her schoolbooks off her dresser and head downstairs for breakfast.

Amy wondered what her parents got her for her birthday. She had been dropping strong hints for the past two weeks that she wanted the gold, oval locket that she saw in the Mercantile. She hoped that her mother and father bought her that locket, but she feared that they did not since her mother believed that she was too young for such a piece of jewelry and that she would just lose it.

"Good morning papa, David." Amy greeted her father and older brother who were just coming in from doing their morning chores.

"Well good morning, sweetheart. You are up early this morning. I thought it was your policy to wait until your mother called you at least three times before you arose." Her father teased as a half smile crossed his face. He kissed her lightly on the check then headed to the stairs to go get cleaned up for breakfast.

"Good morning, Sis." David said as he past her to go get clean up also.

Amy heart sank; neither Papa nor David had wished her Happy Birthday. How could they forget what today was? 'Well Mama will remember' she thought as she went into the kitchen to find her mother who was busy preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, mama." The Birthday girl said as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Amy. I am glad that you got up without me yelling at you three or four times. Would you be a dear and set the table for breakfast." The petite woman kissed her daughter on the cheek then turned to the cupboard to get some plates.

Amy stared in disbelief as her mother handed her a stack of plates. Usually when a member of the family was having a birthday that person was greeted as soon as they got up with Birthday wishes, but no one had yet wished her Happy Birthday. The confused girl took the plates from her mother, went to the dinning room and set the table.

Amy had expected that someone would mention her Birthday while they ate breakfast, but no one did. In fact they seemed to not even notice her at all. The meal finished without one member of her family wishing her a Happy Birthday and she didn’t get her present either. She was heartbroken; no one remembered what today was.

"Well I better get to work. Those fences don't get fixed by sitting here. You kids better get going too, or you'll be late." The blond man stood then started toward the door. At the doorway he stopped. "You know I have a feeling I am forgetting something this morning."

Amy perked up, maybe her father would remember after all. But her hopes were smashed as her father turned, walked over to his beautiful wife and gave her a big kiss.

"I almost left without giving my best girl a kiss. How about you walk the children and me to the door." The blond man said as he winked.

Amy was fighting back tears as she followed her parents and brothers outside. She didn't want to go to school. She wanted to run up to her room climb into her bed and bury her face in her pillow. The disappointed girl exited the house with her head hung down.

"Happy Birthday!" Her family yelled in unison. Amy looked up to see them all pointing to a little bay horse tied to the hitching post. So they did not forget her Birthday after all. They were just pulling her leg.

"I figured that you are getting too big to be riding double on Chester with Paul, so I got you your own. How you like her." Her father drawled as he took her arm and led her to the horse.

"She's beautiful, Papa." Amy tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She liked the mare and it would be nice not to have to ride double anymore, but she had had her heart set on the locket. The blonde girl thanked both her parents for the horse by giving them each a hug and a kiss. Then she thanked her two brothers. She was about to mount her new horse to go to school when her father stopped her.

"Amy wait." He said as he reached into his vest pocket. When his little girl turn to face him he held out to her, her heart's desire - a gold, oval locket. Watching his daughter's face light up like a Christmas tree filled his heart with joy.

"Thank you Papa, Mama." She squealed as she hugged and kissed both parents.

"I am glad you love it, sweetheart. You'll have to be very careful not to lose it." Her mother warned as she took the locket and placed it around Amy's neck. "We had it engrave on the back for you, take a look."

Amy turned the locket over. 'To Amy love Papa and Mama' it read. Then she opened it to find a picture of her mother on one half of the locket and her father on the other half of the locket.

As Laura stared at the picture of the man in the locket images of the day she received it flashed through her mind. She sank down to the floor, curled herself into ball, buried her head in her arms and cried. Who was she? Who where the people in the locket? Were they really her parents and if so who were the people she lived with? Was her name really Amy not Laura? She was so afraid and confused. She finally cried herself to sleep.

There was not a cloud in the deep blue sky to cover the bright warm sun. Birds chirped out their beautiful songs as they flew from tree to tree. It was a perfect day, too perfect.

Amy was so relieved when the church service was finally over; as usual the service was long and boring, but today it seemed to last forever. She had found it almost impossible to concentrate on what the Pastor was saying because she could not stop thinking of the church picnic, that was going to be held down by the river that afternoon. The impatient girl shook the hand of Pastor McKay as she made her escape out of the church and followed her parents to their awaiting wagon.

After a quick stop at home to change out of their Sunday clothes into everyday clothes Amy and her family went to the picnic. They were at the picnic about a half an hour when Amy noticed her older brother, David leave the group of people and start walking down river; she ran after him.

"Where are you going?" Amy panted as she caught up to him.

"None of your business. Just leave me alone" David snapped as he continued to walk. He was more than a little disappointed that his best friend, Mark could not make it to the picnic and the last thing he wanted was his pesky little sister following him around like a puppy dog; like she usually did.

"Why are you leaving the picnic?" The young girl asked refusing to be ignored by her ten-year-old brother.

"That picnic is for little kids like you. Now get lost." The older sibling ordered as he quickened his pace and continued walking along the edge of the riverbed hoping that she would turn back.

"What are you going to do?" Amy asked

"I going to do some exploring if you must know."

"I'll go exploring with you."

"I don't want no scaredy cat girl exploring with me. Now go back to the picnic and leave me alone." David once again ordered his blonde sister.

"I'm not a scaredy cat. I am not afraid of nothing." Amy shouted.

"Oh yeah! If we found a mouse or a snake you would go running back to Papa screaming your head off.

"No I wouldn't."

David realized that nothing he did or said would make his little sister leave him alone, so he gave up. The two siblings continued walking along the edge of the riverbed in silence. They had been walking about ten minutes when they came across the old rope suspended bridge. This bridge had not been in used in years - not since the new bridge was built a couple miles upstream. David started to walk onto the bridge, but Amy grabbed his arm.

"Papa said to stay away from this bridge." She warned.

"I told you couldn't be a explorer. You are nothing but a scaredy cat girl. Scared of an old bridge." David laughed as taunted his little sister.

She loved and admired her older brother; his words hurt and infuriated her. She wanted to prove to him that she was not afraid of anything; she pushed past him and started across the bridge. When she reached the middle of the bridge she turned back to her brother who was still on the bank of the river.

"Who's the scaredy cat now?" She yelled. Then, as a beautiful day can turn into a thunderstorm, it happened; a section of the bridge beneath her gave way. It was by shear instinct that she managed to grab onto the rope that prevented her from falling into the fast moving water below.

"Hang on Amy. I'll get help." David screamed, then started to run as fast as he could back to the picnic area.

David knew that he would not be strong enough to help Amy on his own. He prayed she would be able to hold on until he got help. He had only gone a few yards when he ran into his father, who was coming to look for his missing children. The frantic boy told his father what had happened; his father ordered him to go get more men, so he continued running back to the picnic area.

"Don't leave me." Amy screamed to her brother's retreating back. She could see the fast moving water below her; it made her dizzy, so she looked up at the bright blue sky. "Help! Help!" She kept screaming while she prayed someone would come.

"Amy, calm down. It will be okay." Her father assured her as he slowly made his way toward her. He lay down on his stomach; he reached out his arm to her.

"Papa! I am scared." The terrified girl whined.

"I know you are, honey. Just grab my hand." He ordered.

"No, I can't." She screamed. She was terrified that she would fall if she let go of the rope.

"Yes, you can sweetheart. Just reach out with your right hand and grab mine." The blond man pleaded. Her father was trying not to let her know he was terrified, but when Amy looked into his deep blue eyes she saw that he was as afraid as she was.

"I'll fall." She whimpered as she clung tightly to the rope.

"You have trust me. Please give me your hand." Her father pleaded again as he stretched out as far as he could to reach her, but he was not close enough. He needed her to help.

Slowly she released her right hand from the rope. She reached toward her father's outstretched arm while she clutched with all her might to the rope with her left arm. Her hand was within inches of his when the rope broke; she fell into the icy waters below.

The blond man watched in horror as his daughter plunged into the waters below. Without a second thought he dove in after her. Amy's lungs felt like they would burst as she struggled to reach the surface. Then she felt her father's strong arms around her waist; she gasped for air as they broke the surface.

The blond man fought the current as he tried to swim for the shore, but with one arm around his daughter he was not strong enough; they were being carried downstream toward the rapids. The water was moving faster and faster as he continued to struggle to reach the shore. Then he felt his left shoulder slam into a boulder; he tried to keep his hold on his daughter, but she slipped from his grasp as the pain in his shoulder made his arm too weak to hold her.

Amy tried to grab for her father as the raging waters ripped her away from him, but failed; she fought to keep her head above the water as the rapids continued to pull her downstream. She felt her head hit something then everything went black.

After the banging of her bedroom window shutter awakened Mae, she found going back to sleep to be a difficult task. She lay in bed for a couple of hours staring at the ceiling, then decided to head down to the kitchen for a glass of milk in hopes that it would help her go back to sleep. She got out of bed, lit the lamp on the nightstand, picked it up and left her room. As she past the stairs that lead to the attic she could hear a muffled cry; curious she went to investigate.

Mae found her fifteen-year-old niece lying on the floor in a fitful sleep. There was a burning oil lamp sitting only a foot away from where the young girl lay thrashing about in the turmoil of a nightmare. As she blew out the lamp on the floor, she thanked God that the girl had not kick over it in her sleep. Then she walked over to Laura, bent down and gently shook her young niece's shoulder.

"Laura wake up. You are having a bad dream."

Laura felt herself being gently shaken. She awoke to find herself in the attic with her Aunt's anxious face looking down at her. She could hear the pitter patter of the rain on the roof. She looked around the room in confusion, as visions of her dream danced through her mind. This time there was more detail to the dream and it seemed even more real than ever before. She could not shake the feeling that the man in her dreams was her father.

She looked straight at her Aunt. "Who I am?" She asked

"You are Laura." Mae answered confused by the girl's question.

"Am I? Is that who I really am?" The confused girl asked. She didn't know what to think anymore.

"Laura what this all about?" Mae asked.

Laura showed Mae the locket she found in the trunk as she told her Aunt of the dream and how the blond man tried to save her.

"The sounds of the storm outside caused you to dream of falling in the river and since you fell asleep looking at the picture of that man your mind incorporated him into you dreams as the person trying to save you. I know some dreams can seem real, but it was just a bad dream." Mae tried to console her niece.

"No! It's more than a dream." Laura cried as she stood up and started to pace the room. "I use to dream that same nightmare over and over again when I was eight. I haven't had that dream for over five years, but tonight I had it twice. When I found the locket I got this strong feeling that it belonged to me and that my father gave to me, but when I read the inscription it said to Amy not Laura. When I opened it and saw the picture of the man I realized that he was the same man from my dream. Then remembered the day that this man gave me the locket. I remember calling him Papa."

Laura stopped pacing and turned to face her Aunt. "Ever since Karen and I found Mother's diary yesterday afternoon I can't shake the feeling that I don't belong here."

"What diary? Show me." Mae asked. She wanted to see what had gotten her young niece so upset.

Laura walked over and retrieved the journal from the chest; she handed it to her Aunt. Mae took the diary from the blonde girl, sat down on one of the other chest in the attic and began to read.

...Continued