An Email for Tiana

This morning, Beast'sbelle let me know that I had an email on her Gmail account for the blog.  I was pretty excited about it!  I normally don't get fan mail like the 18 inchers do.  So, of course, at my first possible opportunity, I confiscated the laptop (our desktop isn't working at the moment...Beast'sbelle somehow killed it while signing up for a free month of Netflix) to read my email.

The subject line said "Attn:  Belle of Belle's Bulletins".  My eyes went down to the email and scanned its contents.  Here's what I read:

Belle:

  Greetings, my name is Naveen.  I happened to come across your blog while surfing the Internet, and read your post about your friend Tiana.  I went through an identical situation myself and am wondering if perhaps your Tiana is also MY Tiana.  I was sold three days after she was and have been looking for her ever since.  

  I realize that this may seem fishy coming from an online source, but I'm desperate enough to seem suspicious.  If you would be so kind as to pass this message on to Tiana and ask her if she'd be willing to email me back, I would greatly appreciate it.  I am hoping against hope that she truly is the doll I've been looking for all of these months.

Sincerely, 

Naveen

I chewed my bottom lip thoughtfully (a habit I've picked up that I really need to break...I don't want to chew through my plastic!) and wondered whether I should pass the message along or not.  If it was a serious lead, then of course I wanted Tiana to see it.  But I also didn't want my friend to get hurt by some mysterious online scammer.  Beast'sbelle had warned me before that not everyone on the Internet was trustworthy.

After debating with myself for a while, I finally decided that Tiana had a good head on her shoulders and would be able to make the decision after seeing the email for herself.  Before I could change my mind again, I went and got her.

My friend was very quiet as she read over the email.  When she finished, she got up and slowly paced back and forth in front of the laptop.  Finally, she sat down on the laptop's edge, deep in thought.

I carefully took a seat next to her.  "Are you okay?" I asked her gently, putting my hand over hers.

She nodded but continued staring off into the distance.

I didn't say anything else, but I began to doubt that I'd made the right choice.

"I'm not sure what to think," Tiana said softly, finally breaking the silence.  "I miss him so much, Belle.  I'd take any risk if it meant finding Naveen again."  She paused, her face troubled.  "I just want to be careful, though.  I mean, this guy could be anybody!"

I nodded.  Her thoughts mirrored my own.

"Maybe I'll talk to Beast'sbelle and see what she thinks," she said.

"I think that's a great idea," I agreed.  "Tell me what she says..." I blushed as I realized how nosy that sounded.  "That is, if you want too."

Tiana smiled.  "Of course I don't mind.  And thanks for telling me about this."  Without another word, she went off to find Beast'sbelle.

I turned back to the email and read it one more time.  And I found myself "hoping against hope" that this guy was legit.  Tiana deserved it.