Daniella faintly hears a vocal chorus of "Are you okay?" and "Do you need help?" flood her ears as she feels random people pulling her body up and straightening her up, forcing her out of the darkness. More people immediately rush over to help her.

As she finally pulls her head up to pull her rattled psyche together, Daniella's thoughts are interrupted by the immediate backdrop.

"Am I in the bathroom?"

They all nod at her.

"How the heck ... how did I end up here?"

"We found you like this." answers one of the women.

"Oh. I... thanks?" she responds as she checks the back of her head for any injury.

"First aid is on the way." states one of the other women who intently watches her.

"I'm sorry what? I think I'm fine." Daniella tries to say but she's interrupted by that same woman, who insists on holding her hand until First Aid arrives.

The First Aid group comes into the bathroom. As Daniella tries to sit up, all of the women disappear. They literally evaporate into thin air before her eyes.

"Ma'am, you might want to keep your head down and let the dog do its inspection." says one of the medics in the room.

"Inspection? Where is everyone?"

Before the medics could answer, a shaggy dog prances her way into the room. One of the medics raises her head with a folded towel.

"Why is there a dog?"

"The dog sniffs out any underlying issues." responds another medic.

"That's stupid." Daniella thinks to herself.

"I can assure you it's not." responds a voice.

Daniella's eyes widen as the dog begins to sniff around her shoes. She can feel her  hot breath panting around, making the sensation feel nearly ticklish.

"Once again, I would warn you not to respond out loud. That's exactly how you're going to end up in the hospital, and from what I can tell, that's not meant to happen in this Happening."

A few milliseconds go by before a lightbulb goes off in Daniella's head.

"The Universe?" Daniella telepathically asks. "Is that you?"

"If you wish to call me that, sure."

"Are you... are you the dog?"

"Yes."

"OMG, this is exactly like the X-Men!"

"Daniella?"

"Yes?"

"Concentrate."

"Okay... Wait. Wait a second.... that last time. Luca was with someone else."

"He was."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Out of all the versions you could have brought me into, you picked THAT one?"

As the dog begins to sniff about her hands, The Universe sighs for a moment.

"You mean to tell me that out of everything from that specific Happening that you're hung up on, you're fixated on a GUY? A GUY WHO VOLUNTARILY WEARS SKECHERS? You're not upset about the nudity, you're upset about the fact that you're no longer on a superyacht with a tech billionaire? YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT A SILLY, SILLY MAN WHO WEARS GOD-AWFUL SNEAKERS?"

Daniella pauses for a moment. "Well, when you put it that way..."

"You kept acting like you were fine without Luca and now that I gave you a reality where you never had him, you get upset. There is no pleasing you. What exactly do you want from me?"

"I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!"

"You need to be specific!"

"You know what I mean!" exclaims Daniella.

"No I don't know what you mean!"

"What do you mean what I mean? You're The Universe! You can read minds, you create outcomes! You created everything! We don't even know where you start and where you end! You are the end-all, be-all, know-it-all, do-it-all, fight-it-all! You know me better than I know myself! You are everywhere, anywhere, and nowhere all at the same time ! How dare you tell me that you don't know what I mean?! You're just messing with me for who knows how long now!"

The Universe pauses for a few seconds. Daniella's impatience grows by a lot.

"Well?" asks a demanding Daniella.

While Daniella waits for an answer, the dog has now reached Daniella's head. She intently sniffs around her hair. Seemingly sensing nothing out of the ordinary, the dog  meets her face with Daniella's face. The dog ruffles her mane, instantly making Daniella sneeze. After Daniella opens her eyes from the sneeze, her and the dog stare at each other for a moment. The canine backs away and walks towards the medics.

"Wait, what's going on? Why is she backing away?" Daniella asks out loud to the medics.

The medics smile. They help Daniella up and straighten her clothing and hair. "That means that you're in the clear."

"Wait, are you sure? She didn't look finished."

They walk her out of the restroom, "You'll be fine, ma'am. Take it easy for the rest of the day."

As they walk off with the dog, Daniella realizes that The Universe never answered her question, leaving her vehemently frustrated. Not knowing what to do with herself at this point in time, she heads back to the only place she knows: Gate 3.

Daniella practically throws herself in the first empty seat her eyes connect with. Not even giving a care in the world about her belongings, she throws everything at her feet with a loud thud. As soon as she reaches the cushion and makes herself comfortable with music blasting in her ears, Daniella feels a kick on her shin. "Ow! What the f-"

She looks up and sees a little girl grimacing as she stands right in front of her. "Remember me, line-cutter?"

"Give me one sec, kid."

Daniella takes off her AirPods, places them in the case and back into her bag. She brings her optical attention back to the kid at hand.

"What's your name kid?"

"Destiny."

"What's good, Destiny?"

Destiny doesn't respond.

"I just threw hands with the Universe. Trust me kiddo, you don't want to mess with me."

"My name is Destiny, not kiddo. Get it right!"

As Daniella is about to say something, Destiny interrupts her.

"Actually, what can you do? All you do is kick and scream and drink Starbucks when you're upset! If there was a wine shop, you would have bought everything by now you drunken fish! The only thing you contribute to in a fight is your loud, whiny, high-pitched voice! You sound like a baby b**ch when you fight."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, if you truly know what's good, you should beg."

"I don't beg and I don't have time to fight with a spoiled little girl."

"You've only been at this for the past two weeks, but according to your whiny voice, you don't have time for this."

Daniella looks at her strangely.

"Who the hell are you, and where the hell are your parents?" she asks the child.

"There goes your problem. All you do is whine, whine, whine, yet you're going nowhere with your whining. This is you right there. Know what you want!"

"I KNOW WHAT I WANT!"

"Yeah? WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT? YOU WANT YOUR MOMMY? YOU WANT YOUR WINE BOTTLES?"

"I AM NOT AN ALCOHOLIC YOU STEREOTYPICAL AGEIST CHILD!"

"I only see a child here and I'm staring at her."

"Where are you parents?"

"I am my parents."

"Do you even know what the word 'parents' mean? Wait a sec, why am I doing fighting with a literal child? Honey. I would like to continue this, but I need to rest."

Destiny shrugs. "Okay. So now you know what you want."

"Wait, I didn't say that. I said that I wanted a minute."

"You have been wanting a minute for the past two weeks. I gave it to you."

"Wait, what?"

Right then and there, it dawns on Daniella that she was not dealing with a typical child. Was it possible that there is more to Destiny that meets the eye?

She leans closer to Destiny and squints her eye. "Universe, is that you?"

"How observant! Took you long enough."

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Are you gonna whine again?"

"No, but-"

"You're whining again."

"Fine. I was, but I'm not."

"I see your lips moving, and the sound coming out of it is a whine. Did it occur to you that whining brings nothing but disaster?"

"Oh, this is all my fault now?"

"You said it, not me."

"What do you want from me, Universe?" whisper-yells Daniella.

"First of all, my name is Destiny. Please refer to me properly. I'm all about wording things properly."

Daniella takes a deep long breath and counts from ten to one.

"Okay, Destiny. What is going on?"

"You tell us."

"I'm asking you.'

"I didn't tell you to ask us."

"Okay, I am telling you."

"Well, what exactly are you asking?"

Daniella takes another deep breath and holds back her tears as she convinces herself that Destiny is in this conversation for distance and irritation.

"What. Is. Going. On.?"

"You. Tell. Me."

Daniella clenches her fists in fury and agony. She whispers, yells "Why? Why? Why? Why me? "

Destiny looks at her, shakes her head, and smiles. "Why not you? Why should it be someone else? Who do you think I am?"

"I thought you were The Universe, Destiny! We had this conversation in the bathroom! Answer the question! I'm done with your games!"

"Yes!"

Before Daniella could cover her mouth in a panic, Destiny shouts "Let's play a game!" and evaporates into thin air. Daniella Spencer blinks rapidly in shock. Before she can form words, an announcement interrupts her:

"Could Daniella Spencer come to the ticketing counter, please?"

She raises an eyebrow and looks around the gate. "But I'm like here? So I already have a ticket?" she remarks to herself.

"Could Daniella Spencer come to the ticketing counter, please?"

Daniella shrugs and walks to the ticketing counter anyway.

As she approaches the counter, a warm, smiling old man raises his head. "Over here, miss." he says as he beckons her. "I promise I won't bite. At least not today." Daniella begrudgingly approaches him.

"So I was just asked to come over here? What's going on?"

"I believe that you did not sign this cargo slip."

"What slip?"

"This pink slip. For your canine." he states as he slides the slip to her.

"I don't have a damn dog."

"Are you Daniella Spencer?"

"Yes?"

"Do you recognize this filled out document?"

She examines the slip. It's her handwriting, but she has no memory of ever filling out one. And she certainly has no memory of travelling with any dog.

"I did not fill this out."

"Are you saying that you did not write this?"

"It is my writing, but I did not fill this out."

The old man gives her a look.

"Then who is Luca?"

"I beg your pardon."

"Luca. Who is he to you?"

Daniella pauses. "My... boyfriend...?" she answers as she looks at him as if he was crazy. He bursts out in a hearty laugh, which lasts a while. The sound sounds merry and jingly almost like...

"Oh my god." Daniella thinks to herself. "You sound like Santa Claus." she shares out loud.

"Close one! The name is Cosmo. Cosmo Claus." corrects the old man.

"WHAT??? ARE YOU??? NO.... CAN'T BE?" she exclaims as the man stares at her. "Don't tell me you know Santa. That guy's a prick."

"I'm not on the naughty list, am I?"

"You know what? Keep that question for my brother, the old dirty bastard. That guy should be in jail. Little creep. Who in their right mind, burglarizes millions of houses within the span of a single night? I tell you who, MY BROTHER SANTA THAT'S WHO? ALL HE DID WAS TO RUIN THE FAMILY NAME AND I WILL NEVER EVER FORGIVE FOR THAT! And do you know what really grinds my gears? Everyone knows his name. That's how they know us. No one ever stops to see who he really is..."

Daniella checks the back of her head for any bumps or blood as everything she is everything is utterly surreal. Not only is Santa Claus real, but he is that guy everyone in their family hates.

"Sir, now that I think about it.... maybe I did have a dog in cargo... I've been having amnesia episodes so... maybe it's like flaring up again. So if I could just sign this pink slip, we're both good here and I'd be on my way home, right?"

"Oh. Yeah. The Slip. Yep, that's about right."

He gives her a pen. She signs the form quickly. In fact, she signs so fast that the pen flies out of her hand. In her hasty effort to get away from the weird situation, she dives for the pen. As clumsiness would have it, she collides with the steel garbage bin.

To Be Continued...

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Enjoy, Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, and Stay Tuned! Love hearing from you! Please comment!