The next day

             Friday, December seventeenth Alana woke the next morning at seven am it was the unusual day off she did not have to wake up early to open the coffee shop today. As she lay in bed she let her mind wander as she thought she needed to take Billie Christmas shopping or find a friend to take Billie so her daughter did not have to do the holiday sneak while shopping in her presence. Stealth was not the child's gifting yet since Billie was going through a klutzy stage. Alana checked the time and realized her good friend would be up by now. She grabbed her cell phone and slid out of bed and wrote a text to her.

It read: Good Morning Lovely, Hey Amy, what do you have planned for today after you drop your sons off at school?

             Alana yawned and kept walking to the kitchen in her pajamas and an open blue robe her pajamas consisted of a black tank top and blue swirly blue silk pajama pants and the trusted fuzzy yellow slippers. Her phone buzzed in her hand as she received a text back

Besides mailing some packages nothing much

Why Would you be willing to take Billie Christmas shopping for me? SO she doesn't have to do the holiday Sneak when she's with me.

You mean I get to have girl time? With your lovely daughter and I don't have to hear worm jokes?

Yes, ;)  :) Yes,  a thousand times yes!

 :0) What time can you pick her up?

I can pick her up at 9 am just make sure the sleepy head is awake and fed we will have lunch out I will have her home by 5 pm so you can feed her before the open house tonight.

Thanks a bunch friend

See you when you get here. ^-^

          Alana then put on the kettle and went to go wake up the said sleepy head. Earlier that morning. In a dream, Billie found herself in the middle of a strange forest in the early morning. The trees were ancient with vines snaking into the ground and with the thick tapestry of moss hanging from their limbs and gray mist piled around her the ground was spongy from thick moss. Her hair was free and flowed down nearly to the ground and the breeze whipped it around her and she wore a simple Hanbok that was white and red with a curricular red and gold crest that depicted two wolves in the center of the chest of the dress. Though she could hardly see anything outside of the mist and the trees She heard the wolf's mournful howl calling to her. Again and again, she heard its cry as it called out to her. She began to run towards its call. As she grew near it, she could see the wolf's large pure white form through the mist it's back toward her. Then suddenly she woke up. Her eyes opened her eyes staring at the poster above her bed of a black and white Ansel Adams print. The dreams had started on her birthday this year and every week they became more and more clear. "She had almost seen the wolf fully today". With that thought, she turned back over and fell into a dreamless sleep not letting the strange dream trouble her.

          A few hours later Billie was still sleeping in her bed tightly wrapped in only a sheet as the other blankets and her comforter and fallen off of the bed. She hugged her pillow as though it was her life preserver and had a scowl on her face. Alana gently shook her daughter and said "Billie Billie" right in her ear. Billie only moaned and rolled over. Alana then took the sheet and unwound it from her daughter that flipper her daughter over a few times and swiped the pillow from her grasp. The jostling woke Billie and when she sat up in bed to yawn and rub her eyes her braided hair looked like a bird had tried to make a nest in it. She yawned again and said groggily,

           "Mom why did you have to be so rough waking me up?" Alana replied, "There is only one way to wake you and that is to shock you awake. I am always gentle at first, but you always need me to push you awake. I do wonder where you get this from? Millie was a morning person like me chipper and easy to wake up. Oh, I have news, you are going Christmas shopping with Amy today. So go scrub your face and get dressed and do something with your hair." Billie began to get out of bed and then paused and asked: " Did you send that letter I wrote to Santa?"Alana replied, "Yes, I sent it two days ago, I forgot to tell you, though". Billie smiled sweetly and tiredly at her mom and got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

          Alana then went back to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and pull down the cereal and take the milk out of the fridge. Today she had the day to herself and though she wanted to sit on the couch and watch dramas or veg out on her computer. She decided to go out. She could always wrap presents later. She then left the kitchen with her coffee and went to shower and get dressed. By nine am she Billie had left the apartment Billie had money in her pocket from her savings, as well as Christmas money that her mom had given her and she, had a list and her cell phone and she was in an over