The moon’s shinning. A beautiful, luminous moon. The stars shine bright. Every single one can be seen with absolute clarity. Your best friends stand with you. All of the sudden, the sky blackens. Your friends are withered skeletons. The moon, Oh God, the moon, is a stark red. It reminds you of crow’s blood. You whip around to see your home, but it’s not there. In its stead, is a frightening new building surrounded by burning trees and the charred remains of animals. You stumble back in horror. Suddenly, you’re out of this hellish vision. You stumble backwards. Before you can hit the ground, strong arms catch you.

            It’s your best friend Leo, “Whoa! You okay?” he asks, obviously concerned.

            “Yeah,” chimes in Elis, “You totally blacked out. T asked you a question and then you fell backwards.”

            “You guys didn’t see that?” you ask tentatively.

“Didn’t see what?” inquires Denise as she pushed her circular glasses farther up her freckled nose.

            “Never mind,” you reply as you turn away from the group and go back to star gazing. You feel their concerned looks pressing against you spine. T shuffles over and sits next to you. You love your friends. Elis, the dare devil, will do anything anyone dares her to do, except chores, Denise, the smartest girl ever, always has her nose in a book, Tydentical, or T for short, is very emotional and empathetic, and, of course, there’s Leo. This jack-of-all-trades can do anything from fixing a broken arm to making the perfect omelet. Yep. The good old group of nobodies. Feels good to be home. Later that night, in the orphanage, you are plagued by nightmares of burning forests and booming cities pumping fog into the atmosphere.

            The next day, you trudge off to school with the other orphans. As you approach, you see a crowd gathering. Weird, you think. You shove your way to the front. When you get there, you see a goddess. Her dark brown hair falls down her shoulders catching the light in silky brilliance. Her ruby red gown is just covers her knees. Her legs are perfectly smooth. Her arms tanned to perfection. Her cheeks are just high enough to give her a child-like face. Her nose is scrunched slightly over all the attention. Her eyes, oh boy, her eyes, are a shade of violet so reflective that it gave them the appearance of being multi-colored. These two perfect orbs sparkled with wonder and curiosity. In short, all you wanted to do is run your hands through her hair and kiss those soft lips, and from those lips, she announced her name was Artemis. She also made it clear that she was looking for you. Embarrassed, you start to back up. Of course, Leo pushes you forward. You’re suddenly the center of attention. Artemis comes and helps you up. Her hands are soft as silk, and her nails are a bright pink. Around her, you can barely form a sentence. She hands you her schedule and you immediately notice that she has the exact same classes as you.

            As you’re about to tell her this, the school bully, Archibod, shoves you out of the way and introduces himself. She giggles a little and you sink a little lower in despair. What good would it do to try to court this goddess? You’re hopelessly in love with someone you can’t have. What’s the point? You think. In spite of this, you go through school for the next three months helping her, flattering her, trying to win her favor.

            For a while it seems to work. She seems to warm up to you. Then, on the first day of the third quarter, she starts going out with Archibod. There are rumors going around school that he threatened her, but you don’t believe these. You are convinced she made this choice of her own free will. When you get back to the orphanage, you sprint to your room, bury your head under your pillow, and cry out in agony and despair. Suddenly you get an awful idea. You decide to end it all. You stop at your desk to write a note, you bury in your hand, and run up to the star gazing spot. Before you can change your mind, you hurl yourself off the cliff and crash on the rocky floor below. The note in your hand  is meant for someone close to your heart. The not reads:

            Dear Artemis,

I love you, but because you love another, I cannot bear too live. So, I die knowing I will never love another, nor do I want to. Goodbye, my love.

                        All the best,

                                    Antarius

You die thinking you were unwanted, unloved, and without purpose.