Witness to Destruction
Interlude

The alarm rang next to her bed, so she slapped it with her hand and got up. 
Yawning, she dressed, and ran a comb through her black ringlets. She was 
about to make herself breakfast, when she remembered the plans she'd made 
with Ann. Glancing at the clock, she grabbed her keys and noticed it was 
almost eight.
	It wasn't a long drive to Ann's apartment, but it did give her a 
little time to think. She had known Ann since they were both seventeen, 
escapees from a mundane homelife. They had gone to school together as well, 
Ann in the arts, and herself in theater. They had even gotten jobs together 
at a local gallery, where Silviet still worked occasionally, and Ann 
displayed her work.  She was worried about her friend. Ann had always been 
troubled, though Silviet didn't know the cause, and Ann never talked of it. 
She knew very little of her past life, save that she had lived in 
San Francisco since the age of seven or so, and that her father had 
recently passed away, leaving her a good amount of money. Even before his 
death, Ann's father had always made sure that she was provided for, even 
if he had no other contact with his only child. That money, little though 
it was, had kept the two of them alive during the dry spells in their work. 
The two of them were like kindred souls, both dreamers bound by their 
wayward spirits to uncertain professions. One could never tell when the 
next job would come, when the next painting would sell, so they lived hand 
to mouth, ever teetering on the edge of oblivion. It was only the last two 
years, in fact, that they had had separate apartments. They remained, and 
ever would, closer than two sisters reared together, because they had grown
 up a more important way. They had grown from the stary-eyedness of naive 
youth, to adults with a hard education in the real world. It amazed Silviet
 at times, that either of their dreamers-souls had survived, and not been 
trampled by the heavy foot of reality. 
	She arrived at Ann's door, and knocked. To her surprise, the door 
opened slightly at her touch. Ann almost never forgot to lock her door. 
Silviet stepped inside cautiously, and looked around. The boxes were in 
the living room where the delivery men had left them. Some of the covers 
were off, but nothing was terribly amiss. "Ann?" She called. No reply. 
Maybe she was in the back room painting with her headphones on. She 
sometimes lost track of time that way. She opened the door, but was greeted 
with only the chaotic scene of paints and canvasses stacked along walls and 
on easels. "Maybe she forgot I was coming." The keys to her car were still 
on the table, next to a pile of opened mail. There was one cup on the 
counter in the kitchen. "Strange. Well, maybe she went down to the gallery. 
She could have walked, I guess." She decided to leave her a note, in case 
she missed her.
	Ann, stopped by, guess you forgot we had plans. It's understandable. 
You've been through a lot lately. I'm going down to the gallery, in case 
that's where you went. If I don't catch you there, I'll call after 
rehearsal, about seven-ish.
							See ya,
							      Silviet	
There were few people around when she got to the gallery. A few customers 
looking at the paintings, but that was about it. Jeff was working the 
counter.

"Hi, Silviet. You working today?"

"No, I have rehearsal in an hour and a half. Has Ann been here today?"

"I haven't seen her. Xander's in the back, by the way. You might want to 
ask him. She might've come in the back way."

"Yeah, I will." She headed to the back room.

"Silviet?"

"Yes, Jeff?"

"When are you two going to get hitched?"

"Xander and I aren't that serious, Jeff. We don't even share an apartment!"

"Sure, whatever you say." She gave him a look of disgust and continued to 
the store room. 

"Xander?" Her boyfriend stepped out from behind some shelves. "Silviet, 
what are you doing here? I thought you had rehearsal." He was a tall, thin 
man, with fine features and light skin. His hair, completely white since 
his birth, fell to just below his shoulders. Silviet never tired of the 
sight of him. To her, he looked unreal, like something from some other 
realm. He had been kind to both her and Ann when they both came to work 
for him five years ago. She had always been amazed that she was the one 
who had ended up dating him. Ann was the prettier of the two of them, in 
her opinion, but Ann had been uninterested in him. 

"He reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago." She had said.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. But he's not the same person, and I don't want to trick myself into 
believing he is."

Silviet had understood, and was glad that there would be no competition 
between them. No man should come between two friends.

"What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing. Has Ann been back here?"

"Not today, no. Why?"

"We were supposed to go to breakfast, but when I went by her apartment, 
the door was open, and she was gone. Her car keys were still on the table."

"Do you think something happened to her?"

"I don't know. I don't thinks so.." She shook her head. "She's been so 
upset lately. I wish I could have done something for her...." Xander 
wrapped his arms around her.

"Shhh....You were there for her as a friend. That's the greatest gift you 
could give. Don't worry. If she doesn't show up, we'll contact the police. 
I'm sure she's fine. She just forgot you were coming by."

"Yeah," She said wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "I'm sure your 
right. You must think I'm pretty silly for getting so upset."

"No, of course not." He smoothed her hair with his hands. "When's you 
rehearsal?"

"In an hour and a half. Are you going to come?"

"Of course, Dear Heart, of course.


End Interlude One