Saila comes for a visit. She arrives very late in the day and while she settles down, I go to say goodbye to Rob and Marc who are going to a gig--Rob to work and Marc to hang out. As the two of them are walking away, I shout out to Marc that if he gets tired after the show when Rob and the guys are loading the gear, he should sleep in the back of the car which is what I would do when I went to gigs with Rob.

As I return, I pass a wedding party taking pictures. The bride is having one taken of herself alone. Initially, I notice that she is a little overweight and the dress she is wearing is not at all flattering to her figure but I immediately berate myself for having such an unkind thought. The bride is beaming, a smile so large I know her jaws will be aching tomorrow. That is when I also notice that her face is made up with some makeup in an odd white and grey mask. I look at the rest of the wedding party and they are not made up in the same way. They also look less thrilled, almost uncomfortable, with the entire situation.

I continue walking back to my home, past a display of family memoribilia--photographs, cards, etc. One of the family members, a young girl, possibly a teenager, shows me the photos and explains that the ones in silver are premonitions. In one, I recognize the bride but she is only five or maybe six in the photograph. A shadow across her face suggests something similar to the mask-like makeup she is wearing. I remark on the cards and another girl explains that their mother made them each a birthday card. I say how lovely I think that is and mention how nice it must be to have all these cards from over the years but yet another girl corrects me and explains that their mother only just did it for the first time that year.

I return home where Saila has settled in. She's listening to an Alanis Morissette cd, sitting cross-legged on the bed, and eating a bowl of three raw eggs. I tell her that I could make her something to eat. She says that she's fine, eating her eggs. "But you can't eat those. They're raw." She tells me that they are not raw and that she has cooked them just enough to make them safe to eat without cooking them solid.