Time stopped as Sweetheart stared in disbelief at the nothingness that was once a secure binding keeping her beloved sister safely on her back. She turned and looked over her shoulder, praying that somehow her sister was still there, but saw only her own golden hair swaying in the violent currents of water.

"This cannot be..." Sweetheart whispered, as she returned her unbelieving gaze forward. Her eyes were wide with shock and devastation. "This cannot be... A nightmare...this a nightmare. Wake up, Sweetheart, wake up. Wake up... Wake up... Wake up... WAKE UP!" she screamed.

Slowly, she turned and looked over her shoulder once more, but the scene remained unchanged. Only the clear, blue water and the golden tendrils of her hair floating upon it made up the canvas of her sight. Sweetheart stared at the empty painting of tragedy before her, her gaze blank and glassy. This was unreal. Surely this was unreal. But, as she continued to stare at the rebellious sea and no longer felt the warmth of her sister clinging to her, only the cold chill of the waves beating upon her back, Sweetheart was forced to face the painful reality before her. Her infant sister, the kitten she tried so hard to protect, the little one whose life had only just begun...was gone.

Warm, stinging tears poured from her eyes as the vice of anguish clamped down on her heart. The misery that swelled within her, the tragedy that was the loss of her sister, the agony of it all...there were no words to echo the feelings of remorse. The only word that came to mind was the only word that was the sum of her aching. It bubbled up within her, gathered in her throat and was expelled in a loud, mournful wail as she cried,

"FLORA!!"

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