My heart leaps as Omar walks back towards us. He looks like a huge burden was just lifted off his back, but he's suffering from the weight of it after carrying it for such a long time. I feel just as he looks. After hearing Olivia's full story of what went down while I was unconscious, I'm overwhelmed with...well, every emotion known to humankind.

"Lucinda—let's go for a walk. There's something I want to show you." The mystery in his voice makes me forget everything else. I smile and nod. Wordlessly, Olivia rises and makes her way to the garden where Omar's mom is sitting.

I link my arm with Omar's, and he guides me down the long path. It stretches endlessly before us, like that long corridor inside the Dream Factory. Looks like the Factory was designed to be the center of the town.

"Where are we headed?" I ask, knowing he won't tell me yet, but deciding to try anyway.

Sure enough, he shakes his head. "Wait and see."

So we walk through the city in silence, never once veering to the right or to the left. The streets are still asleep. Not a single light shines from a window, and not a noise drifts through the cracks in the doors. I eventually notice a change in the atmosphere. The tall buildings are soon replaced with smaller houses, where poorer people must live. I hear the first hints of morning bird songs coming from unseen places.

We went through all this toil, and they only sing.

I stay close to Omar as we keep walking along the road. Soon, the gravel path turns into a lane carved out by the occasional human trampling through the grass. I expect him to stop soon—already, we're far away from any hint of civilization. But he doesn't. I slow down a little to watch my footing as we begin making our way through taller weeds. I'm curious what could there possibly be to show me beyond this point.

When I finally see him coming to a stop next to me, I raise my eyes to look around. There's grass—very tall grass—under and around us in all directions. That's about it. Everything in sight is tinted with a yellowish-orange glow.

I feel Omar's hand gently tilting my chin upward, but it's not for a kiss. Instead, I'm met with the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. Gradients of pastel colors backdrop various sweeping streaks of clouds everywhere I look. The sky is in its freshest form, and now it's so easy to understand why the birds sing. It's beautiful—perfect—wonderful—and there's nothing left for me to say.

And so we remain silent.

His arms wrap around me from behind, and I take hold of his clasped hands. We stay this way for a while, lost in the time defined only by the sky. We're content to be silhouetted by the sunrise—and I'm content to be in his arms. It's a picturesque feeling that I'm positive will never fade away.

"Lucinda..." Omar whispers, almost afraid to break the silence. His breath rolls across my cheek, and I close my eyes, reveling in it. But the next moment his hand is holding mine out, and slipping a ring on my finger.

I nod slightly, but he already knew the answer. The sunset whispered it to him. And the diamond reflecting the colors of the sky is a perfect memoir of that.

It always will be.

Our lips meet, but we're no longer stuck in the middle. We're finally together, and nothing could be more real.

It all feels like a dream, maybe for the first time—but it isn't anymore. And that's the beauty of it all.