CHAPTER TWENTY ONE – THE TRANSFORMATION BEGINS

Yes, the transformation was already beginning. Slowly but surely, Charlotte envisioned herself undergoing a metamorphosis not unlike the rebirth of the mythical phoenix. Rising stronger and ever more radiant thanks to the purifying flames of the crucible she'd endured. She would be incandescent. Unassailable. Her mere existence as living proof that a soul could withstand the most brutal of cosmic injustices and only emerge more luminescent because of it. Maybe it was fate's way of preparing her for the inevitable challenge that awaited just over the horizon. Because on a bright spring morning exactly one week after her most recent agonizing setback, even Charlotte's newfound reserves of inner steel were to be tested to their absolute limits. She'd been ensconced in her usual quiet corner, journal unfurled across her lap as she allowed her pen to glide in mesmerizing arcs across the page - the sublime routine having become such second nature that she scarcely registered the faint rap