"Welcome to Isla Empatio Bonita ... The Island of Beautiful Empathy. We specialize in relationship therapy."

(Author's note: Thanks for being patient with me; it's been a long time since even my last comment on the site. Big time RL issues, still not fully resolved. But, I had the urge to write, so I decided to obey my moose (Mousse? Mouse? MUSE!) and put this up. A couple of items: Although there are no TG elements in this first part, they will play a big time role in all the rest of the parts. This first part is essential to the story, though. AND, even though I love to read magical and Sci-fi stories, I usually don't write them (On my own, that is). Well, this story arc will have a small unreal element. I tried not to make it the crux of the story; I just couldn't figure out how to get the exact emotional conflict I needed without it. Ah, emotional conflict. There's some of that in this first chapter. But for all of you who stay away from "unreal" elements in stories, I urge you to hang in there with this one, since the major basis is empathy/emotional issues. Plus, if you stick with it, I'll give you a genuine Stan Lee inspired "no-prize"! Thank you guys in advance for your readership, comments, and kudos! HUGZ! **Sigh**)