Word count: 1,054
Here's a happy story for once. It was inspired by my childhood and the kid is pretty much me about 10-11 years ago, so here you go!

The little girl looked tiredly out the window, only looking out for one thing in particular. Her and her parents were traveling home, she was ready to sleep, since it was way past the time she usually went to bed. She raised up in her car seat, trying to see out of the window. As they went by her mother spoke up.

"Luna? Look out of the window, we're getting close to your city." The little girl had a smile on her face as they passed her city. The street lights of the opposite road shined bright in the night. You could see the girl's excitement and happiness as her eyes lit up with the twinkles of the street lights. It spanned across a field that was pitch black by this time of night as trees blocked the streets the lights sprinkled down on. That was her city, her city of lights.

She would always remember that city, even when she moved away from it when she turned 7. Sometimes she would think of the old times, before she moved, before her life changed so drastically. She'll remember those lights, her city. The way it made her feel, like she was in a different world, one that didn't make her face hardships and trying times. She knew that one day she'd paint a picture, she'd paint a picture in the world, and she wanted her picture to be as beautiful as those lights. She wanted her picture to shine, to make others feel the feelings she felt when looking at something majestic.

Even years after they left, she would tell stories to her friends, she tried explaining what those lights meant to her, but she was laughed at. She was made fun of. She was called stupid, for thinking those lights where the highlight of her night, of her life. She cried every night, feeling like she was worthless, feeling so bad that she was made fun of. And all because those damned lights. She sooner or later gave up. She gave up on lighting up the world like those lights. She gave up on remembering them. She gave up telling stories about how majestic they were. She gave up trying...

But years after that, sometimes she still thinks about them. She thinks of all the times she looked out that window of her car, she remembers how happy she was then. How her parents always reminded her to look out the window. Those were the happy days, those were the days her parents loved each other. Those were the days that her mothers best friend didn't have cancer. Those were the days that her parents friend was still alive, and still happy even though he was fighting leukemia.

She still sometimes remembers she's painting a picture, but not a very pretty one, it's not anything like those lights. And then she remembers that she can change that picture, buy a new canvas and start all over. She can't bring back those days, but she can always remember them. She'll paint those memories as the background of her painting. She'll keep them close to her heart, she keep her past dreams in her future ones.

Her mother took her on a ride one night. She was now 7 years older. They had a little extra time to ride around, and so her mother ask her where she wanted to go. That was when she remembered the past, she loved her old house that she had left years ago. Then she also remembered, my city of lights. And that's exactly where she wanted to go. She looked over at her mother that was waiting for a response.

"My city." Her mother knew exactly what she meant and had a happy grin on as she started the vehicle to head to the city.

"Look out of the window, we're getting close to your city." She could hear her mothers words from so long ago as they neared the one place that made her happy. She looked out at the night sky, dark navy dotted with white spots. The stars shone bright that night, the trees stared dwindling down in number as they neared the clearing. She smiled and looked as she saw her city. Past images floated in her mind. The 4 year old in her car seat looking out at the sky and the lights, and the way the girls eyes shined in the darkest of night. The night they left their old house for good. The day they heard her mothers friend had stage 4 breast cancer. The day they heard of her parents friend's death. His funeral, them playing the song Lucky Man by Lynard Skynard, that still makes her cry to this day. Her first boyfriend, her first kiss. It all happened in a flash behind the eyes that saw the city of lights, her inspiration for everything she did in her life.

She smiled to her self as she looked out on the different colored lights, the trees they hid behind. It seemed like there were a lot less than long ago, after all the little girl that once saw all this was a dreamer.

Ever since that day, she changed the picture she painted on the world. She changed, she improvised, and yet she still kept her past close to her heart. Some nights it was hard, she had developed depression along with anxiety, but then she would remember the tired, yet smiling 4 year old looking out of the window, seeing not her past, but her future pass in front of her eyes.

The lights in the night may just light up the streets, but for some, it lights their future, and their past. But for me, it paints my picture, it paints my past, my future, and my happiness, my city of lights isn't just a cluster of street lights hiding behind leaves, my city of lights is me.

Welp, I hoped you enjoyed! Like I said before it actually is based off what I've went through and some thoughts I've had. No Luna is not my real name, but this story is pretty much me.

Anyway, I hope you have a great day and I'll see you in the next chapter!!

~KennyandEmo~