It's Friday, October 31, 2003. It's 10 P M. Manon has just finished reading The Green Mummy. It's a terrifying book. She can still feel the shivers running up down her spine. Outside the wind is blowing. The frigid air fills the room. Around 10:30, seized by a sudden panic, she rushes toward the window. It's a full moon. She tells herself she shouldn't read such horrific stories right before bedtime.

Climbing back into bed, she catches a quick glimpse of the calendar. Her legs begin to tremble. In exactly an hour it'll be Halloween.

She thinks about her friend Alexandra who lives in California (in the United States). She decides to send her an e-mail hoping this might calm her down and bring her comfort. She sits down at the computer and pours out her troubles. By 11 PM, her message is on its way. She realizes that in San Francisco it's now 2 in the afternoon. By the time the clock strikes 11:30 there's still no reply. She decides to send one last e-mail before retiring. At exactly midnight, right when she's about to give up and go to bed, she gets an answer. Checking the message, Manon sees the signal of distress splattered across the screen consisting of only three letters

SOS!

It takes another few minutes for it all to sink in. Just these three letters, and nothing more. Manon decides to write again but this time no response. Her mind still awhirl she goes to bed. She tries to convince herself that it's all a joke. At 2:30 AM, after hours of tossing and turning she finally falls asleep.

A loud noise wakes her around 8 AM. It's the doorbell . Manon makes her way slowly down the stairs and opens the front door. Her friend Lea is there and she looks scared stiff. hysterical.

"Manon! Something's happened to my pen-pal. I got an urgent message from her. SOS in giant letters on my computer screen."

Manon doesn't know what to think. Is this all a dream she wonders. She tells her friend to come in.

After a long talk she has to acknowledge the facts. They've both just had the same experience.

Manon asks Lea one last question:

What time was it when you got this message?

Midnight sharp!