Thank you EVERYONE who submitted a story! All of us at CosmicDebris.com and HotTopic.com had a great time reading all these crazy, funny, disturbed, weird and very strange Emily stories. Here's to you and the next written contest! Be Aware! The winner has won the following illustrated likeness drawn by Emily artist and web designer Buzz Parker. This lucky soul also will receive a new Bad Kitty Hoody, an Under Achiever and Emily Strange Posse Tee, an inch thick stack of Emily stickers and other naughty Emily stuff. So without further ado, enjoy the chosen one...

At dusk, I wish upon the first star I see tonight. I sit in my porch swing, underneath a leafless oak tree. In my lap is my black cat, Mephistopheles. I am wearing a black dress with a puffy skirt. Without warning, Emily and her Posse appear in front of us. Emily is so ominous, so threatening, so scary ... but she's a cool little girl. Mephis and Emily's four kitties growl, but they sniff and understand that they are the same: they are black cats who are tough and defensive of themselves and of their black-haired, antisocial, cat-loving, awesome human female friend. I show Emily the grave of Ambrosia, Mephis's mother, who was once a beautiful black cat. Mephis sits nearby and purrs. A vine of miniature roses, which had spontaneously sprouted from the grave, is wrapped around the wooden cross. A strange reincarnation, indeed! I know that Emily and her Posse are city dwellers, making midnight runs through streets and alleyways.

I invite Emily to explore the country, which at night has more mystery than Mystery herself. Behind Ambrosia's grave is a field of corn. Mephis looks at his new friends and sprints into the tall stalks. Emily looks at me in wonder. I smile and, lifting the hem of my skirt, take off after him. I chase Mephis and hear the Posse scurrying about to be in the game, too. Do I hear laughter from Emily? I dare say that the childish antics of playing with cats is not lost on her--cats are fun! Sometimes Emily and I meet up in a row. We are silent. We gaze up at a sparkly night sky. I bet Emily doesn't see stars in the city. Then we look down for a pair of glowing eyes; after all, that's all we can see of our black cats, who are camouflaged in shadows. When we spot two round cat eyes, we pounce and hop and run some more.

As the night winds down, we listen to coyotes howl and doves coo. I suggest to the Posse that we chill under the stars. In a clearing, Emily and I lie on our backs and stare up, while the kitties romp around or just take a little nap. I point out to Emily some constellations, including one that I made up in honor of Ambrosia. Emily can just make out the glittery outline of a sitting cat. The Posse wonders if I see many shooting stars out here. I sit up, my dress rustling, and tell them that sometimes, I do. Emily smiles and stands up. She pulls out her slingshot and loads some pebbles she found on the ground. She aims and fires, directly into the sky. I look up to see showers of bright streaks. I notice that all of them are flowing over my Ambrosia constellation. I whisper, "Wow." I look back to Earth to say, "Emily, this is so beautiful--" but neither she nor her Posse is there. All I see is Mephis, with shooting stars reflected in his eyes.

Well done, Amanda, I enjoyed every second reading and drawing this... -Buzz

Amanda Lynn ... xspookykidx AT hotmail DOTCOM


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