Julie Stovall stirred in her prison cell, experiencing another restless night.
A simple 10 foot by 5 foot space, barely big enough for her cot and toilet.
Despite having been incarcerated since being found guilty of violating Statute 1-A* late last year, her attitude had yet to change.
She still hated everyone and everything, including her parents, Eric Anderson, Frieda Knight, Spencer Lawson and Brian Walker.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive," she heard someone say.
Julie turned her head, her blonde locks now crew cut short in keeping with prison regulations, and stared in disbelief.
"YOU!" she screamed, looking at the mysterious stranger who had visited her before. "GUARDS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Won't do you any good ma'am. You're asleep," he reminded her.
"What do you want this time?" she asked, while turning her back to him so Julie was now laying on her side away from him.
"Well, for one, I just wanted to see how you were doing," replied the stranger.
"HOW I'M DOING?" she shouted, turning back to look at him again. "HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I'M DOING? TRAPPED AND ROTTING AWAY IN THIS DAMN CELL!"
"You have no one to blame for your current situation but yourself," he reminded her.
"That's what you think," Julie said in return, "and when I get out..."
"A little over 149 years from now, because there's no time off for good behavior for Statute 1-A* violators."
"Was there something else you wanted?" Julie asked, hoping to be rid of him soon.
"Had some news you might want to hear, but if you want me to leave," began the stranger, as he turned to go.
"NO! Wait," said Julie. There was an agonizing silence before she added, "Please."
"Why the change of heart all of a sudden?" the stranger asked in return.
"You're the first visitor, real or imagined, I've had in months. My parents have stopped coming to see me..."
"That's because you told the guards you didn't want to see them any more," the stranger reminded her.
"The last time they were here, they just got back from a long vacation in the Pacific. Mom was entering her second trimester and telling me she was going to have twins, and despite the fact dad was about to become the were-mer representative on the Elders' Council, all he wanted to talk about was whether or not I was trying to get my GED** here instead of how he should of been trying to at least get my sentence reduced, if not a full release for time served," bitched Julie.
"And you think I live in a dream world?" the stranger asked in disbelief.
"Well, what's your news?" Julie wanted to know.
"Samantha Twist has officially announced her candidacy for mayor," began the stranger.
"So? Even if I was out of prison, let alone didn't have a record, I'm too young to vote," replied Julie. "Why don't you tell me something that matters. Like how my friends are doing."
"What friends?" asked the stranger in return. "While I'll grant you the fair weather ones shouldn't of dropped you like a hot potato at the first sign of trouble, you've alienated everyone who ever might have been in your corner against you. But since you asked so politely," he added sarcastically, while waving his arms in a circular motion.
Soon a glowing area appeared within the imaginary space he drew, which was soon replaced by images from around Moon Lake.
"Why are you showing me Eric, Frieda, and Spencer?" asked Julie, while staring at the 3 weres sleeping together in a king sized bed.
"Because, despite your intentions otherwise, you are partially responsible for making Eric happy," explained the stranger. "He was already in love with Spencer Lawson and wanted to become a werepanther to be with her, but being a hybrid, she couldn't initiate him herself for fear of not knowing what specific kind of were Eric would have become in the process. Thanks to Frieda's help to prevent you from turning him into a were-merman, the 3 of them have found true love together."
"What? You mean like a menage a trois?" asked Julie in disbelief.
"Sort of, but their bonds go much deeper than just sex. Eric is so much happier and alive in his new existence. He and Spencer will get legally married someday, but they will continue to be with Frieda until the end of time. In fact, they don't know it yet, but they've already had their were-wedding last year when their unique bond first formed and all their eyes turned green, even while in human form."
"I don't feel so good," complained Julie upon hearing the news, as she laid back down on her cot.
"I told you before there is at least one Moon Lake on another earth where you and Eric are the ones to live happily forever after***, but that's only because that world's Julie Stovall took her time and let the love between them grow naturally, instead of trying to force herself upon him just to take his virginity. In fact, she was a virgin too until they consummated their relationship," revealed the stranger.
"Really?" said Julie. "That actually sounds... romantic," as the image changed to show a were-mermaid who looked like her with long blonde hair swimming happily next to Eric Anderson as a were-merman, displaying a blue-green scaled tail.
"It does, doesn't it. You know. You're in a bad place right now, and I don't just mean sitting in a prison cell, but that doesn't mean the rest of your life has to be bad too," he said, as the image disappeared. "Get your GED, then explore what you want to be and start investigating some online college courses," suggested the stranger.
"I..." Julie started to say, recalling how she once thought about being a fantasy author, considering how much of that genre she read until becoming sexually active.
"Well, I just planted the seed. What becomes of it is up to you," the stranger said, as he turned to leave. "Can't stay much longer. Have other stops to make before dawn. But speaking of seeds..." he said, turning back to look at Julie again.
"Yeah?" asked Julie, staring at him again.
"Maggie Lawson brought Evan Junior into the world earlier this evening, and by tomorrow night you'll officially be a big sister."
"What do you mean?"
"Even as we speak, your mother's gone into labor and your dad's rushing her to the hospital. Of course I know how it all turns out, but a guard will pass word to you by supper time Saturday night. After all, every life should have some pleasant surprises. Even yours," the stranger added with a smile before he disappeared.
Julie Stovall sat on her cot in her prison cell, staring at nothing in particular.
Then, whether or not it even mattered in whatever dream or nightmare world she currently occupied, Julie cried herself to sleep.
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*Attempting to turn a normal human (Eric Anderson in this case) into a were against their will.
**An official alternate to a high school diploma.
***The Moon Lake of Earth 1, the locale for our Andersons, Tad, and Jenkins stories, among others.—tmw.