My mother’s face trickled with beads of sweat. Her brown curls of hair fell over her shoulders as she groaned in pain. She was in labor the whole night as the doctor asked constantly,
“Are you all right?”
“Are you ok?”
“Do you feel fine?”
Yet my mother ignored his requests and faintly asked,
“Is she all right?”
“…my baby?”
The doctor cradled the small bundle in his arms. The baby’s eye slowly widened, revealing her blue, sapphire eyes that gleamed like a thousand stars in the night. The baby shrieked as tears streamed down her face. The doctor gently placed the baby in her mother’s hands. Her squeals transformed into giggles of laughter as daughter met mother. Her mother was the needle that wove in and out of the baby’s heart; mending it with the threads of love. A sweet, soft lullaby escaped the lips of her mother. It was like the nightingales that sang to the moon. The baby’s eyelids suddenly fluttered with exhaustion. Her dreams carried her off into a sea of wonders. The baby’s breathing became less rapid as the room suddenly turned silent. Her mother stroked the pale face as she trembled. She kissed the baby, leaving the mark of love imprinted on her forehead. The winds swept the baby off into an endless night. Life escaped the small, yet young earthling. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. The teardrops fell onto the window pane as the sunshine hid itself in sorrow. The heavens cried as another child fell into death’s grasp.
I am Emily Garrison.
I had died in my mother’s arms.

“What is love?”
It is always the question that we ask ourselves that make us think twice about how to answer it. Some questions can be answered straight forward, yet others require more than just words. These questions can only be answered by experiences throughout our lifetimes. Even describing the happiest moments of our lives cannot be written in the most well constructed sentences; for feelings are quite impossible to fully comprehend.
Especially when you have never loved anyone before.

The empty pages of my story that still remain blank are not to be left bare. My life still goes on, like a storybook ready to be filled with the most beautiful illustrations that depict the happiest and worst moments of our lives. Earth II is now my home, where people that have died at a young age are given the chance to live once more. My role is to create dreams for an earthling; to inspire, warn, and advise them to become a successful person. We follow an earthling and experience their everyday lives. Yet this job makes us dream creators seem isolated, for no one can sense our presence. Earthlings whisper our names at every dark alley; as if the name is cursed. We are spirits.
“The knight raised his sword in the air and with one defying blow he pierced the dragon in the heart. He knelt before the princess and kissed her. Together they lived happily ever after.” The boy closed the book and stroked its spine. He placed the book on the shelf. Yet I knew his mind was still far away; in the time when princes fought gallantly while enemies fell to their knees and begged for mercy. His name was Adam. Just plain Adam. Being a boy of sixteen years of age, he was sprouting out of his childish shell and into a grown man. It is my job to ensure the fact that he will choose the right path to a better life.
For I am the light that shines his way.
Adam hopped on his bike and began to ride home from school. I picked up my speed and flew ahead of him. He felt a tiny gust of air pass him as he pedaled faster. I playfully circled around the bike, so you want to play? Adam pedaled even faster. I yelled, “No way are you going to beat me!” I flew faster. He gained speed as I rushed to get ahead of him. Adam then shouted, “Whoohoo!” as he raced down the hill. I sped up and shouted along with him. We raced across the fields of happiness. My heart soared above the highest clouds and sailed across the seven seas; on adventures that took me far away.
I was the wind.
The lights that lit each house up slowly blinked out; one by one. The neighborhood turned quiet, making the sound of the wind the only sound that was heard. Adam yawned as he stretched onto his bed, like the many others that were preparing to sleep through the night. His eyelids fluttered and closed shut. I cast my spell over him as his mind drifted afloat a ship that would sail in the vast sea of his dreams.

The darkness enveloped the world as the moon’s light gave off the faintest glow which illuminated the spirits that lay restless. I flew out of Adam’s room and into the corridor. It was the sound of the past that greeted my ears. Cries of joy, anger, and sadness echoed the corridors of Adam’s house as my eyes passed from one memory to another. April 17, 1989: Mom and Dad married. My hand reached out to touch the picture.
The bride grinned happily as she embraced her husband. The groom swept the bride off her feet as they danced. Round and round did they twirl…
Where are my parents? What were they like? I had always wanted to wake up to the singsong voice of my mother calling me to breakfast, fly high above the clouds as my dad swings me round and round, and chase my little brother around while playing hide and seek. Yet it was my fate to die when I was just a baby. I was destined to become a dream creator.

I patiently waited outside as Adam came out of the library. He ran out of the library and down the steps. To make the situation even queerer, he kept glancing at his watch. Adam hopped into his car and drove away. I curiously followed him. It led us to a park where he warmly embraced a strange girl. They held hands and walked off, leaving my heart in deep despair. Teardrops trickled down from my eyes. What was this pain that was bursting inside of me?
Night came again as the moon lit the dark sky. Adam was in bed, fast asleep. I cast away my last dream. I looked up to the stars and gave one last prayer.
“Good bye.” I stooped down low and kissed his forehead.
“I shall always love you. Forever and always.”

What is love?
It was the singsong bells that greet us once the sun peeps up from her slumber. It is the magical spell that lifts our minds from all troubles. It shall be what keeps the knot of happiness bound within our hearts. It was this question that kept the world hidden inside of me. Yet love did pierce my heart and let it sing to the highest treetops. My heart glided across the ocean and into the sky; high above where I lay resting. Love blossomed from within me, like a meadow of flowers that flourished with dazzling colors. I was no longer held captive by the chains of life.
For I have finally learned to love.