Excerpt Prologue

     Was it the moon of blue-green gazing in through her open window that beckoned the girl forth from her restless submersion in sleep? Or was it the cool autumn breeze sweeping past the graceful swag of drapery that stirred the girl, brushing her cheek? Or perhaps it was a different visitor altogether, a celestial voice that murmured invitingly from the luminous stretch of moonlight cast upon the floor. Whatever the alluring source or sources, the youngster’s long-lashed lids opened to the collective whisper of night. Throwing back the covers, she arose from the bed, and in her red-striped pajamas stepped into the gloom that quietly courted her.