Toni pedaled down the path, heading home after a long day. At least she was now off for the summer, the advantage of working for a school. As she neared the roadway, she turned her bicycle onto the sidewalk.
That's when she saw it. A little pile of fur lying beside the street. Normally, she would have dismissed it as roadkill, maybe a poor raccoon or opossum, but this time, something caused her to slow to a stop. Getting off her bike, she walked it to the edge of the sidewalk and stared down at the small creature laying in the gutter. It wasn't a raccoon; in fact, it looked more like a puppy. As she gazed down sadly, she suddenly held her breath, her eyes opening wide. Once, then again, the critter's side twitched as it drew in a shallow gasp of air.
Without thinking, Toni quickly reached down and bundled the little furball in her jacket, and carrying it in one arm, she raced back home. Barreling through the door, she lay the creature, still swaddled in her jacket, gently on the living room carpet, then grabbed some towels to create a makeshift bed.
"I need to find a vet!" Toni muttered to herself as she ran warm water over a washcloth, intending to clean the mud off the poor critter before locating some medical care. When she turned away from the sink, she stopped cold, astounded to see the little creature sitting there in the kitchen a few feet away, watching her calmly with a eerily serious look. Before she could react, the small thing ran forward and leaped towards her chest.
Finally able to move, Toni leaped forward and reached out, intending to catch the pup before it fell and hit the floor. However, contrary to her expectations, she didn't feel the weight of a living animal in her arms. Rather, the pup seemed to leap straight into her as if one of them were merely made of air and disappeared. Off-balance, Toni found herself falling forward, and as she did so, she blacked out.
Groaning, Toni came to. At first, she wasn't sure why she was lying on the floor, but then she remembered the strange events which had preceded her fall. Her limbs felt strange, so without moving much, she tilted her head to look at the large wall mirror which was on the other side of the hallway out of the kitchen. At first, she thought she was still dreaming, or maybe hallucinating from hitting her head. She didn't feel like she was dreaming. But it couldn't possibly be reality. Because staring back at her from the mirror, sprawled out on the kitchen floor in her clothes, was a...