"She lived a very long time ago."

"Who did, ma?"

"The Night Girl." The mother whispered quietly to her young child.

"The Night Girl? Who is she?" The child said rather loudly.

The mother to her embarrassment quickly reprimanded the child to hush as the sound of the guards footsteps sounded close by.

"Hush, child! Do not speak the name out loud! She may come down!"

With ominous grey eyes that resembled an angry sky, the child widens his eyes in awe, "She's real, ma?"

The mother let out a soft laugh which quickly turned into a cough. Her chest rattled slightly as the mother tried in vain to soothe her aching throat. Her child ran towards her, holding his hand over her slouched back. He ran towards the end of the cellar to fetch her a cup of water, no matter if it were dirty.

With shaking small hands, the child handed his mother the cup which she drank greedily. Her throat now quenched, she began her story again,

"T-thank you, child. Where was I? Ah. Yes. The story;

One day, a long, long time ago. In a world far, far away, lived a beautiful girl..."

◾ ◾ ◾

"A girl of beautiful sky blue hair and mesmerizing yellow eyes dominated the third heaven. Her name was the Night Girl"

She sighed in relief. It had snowed last night, thankfully. The earthlings needed the cold after such a long time in the heat. She'd heard the screams of joy as the cold gust of wind finally hit their faces. She couldn't quite understand why they felt joy one minute and then disappointment. Is it not the cols that they wished for in the midst of the blistering sun? So what seemed to be the issue? She shook her head, amused by the earthlings. They were hers to protect and protect she shall.

Ring!

There goes the trumpet. 'I better get back before I get in trouble again', she thought wistfully to herself. With an aching and so very wandering heart, she left through the Stone Gate which dominated the Third Heaven level. As if by whim, the moment she took her first step through the gate, she stumbled into the forest ground.

'Huh? What am I doing here?', she thought fearfully. Shouldn't she be up in the Night sky? What was she doing here?!

"You see, child. Without knowing where and how she came onto the Earth, she had not stopped for a minute to think about what had brought her there. The Golden Stone Gate."

She swept her silky fingers through her ruffled hair, grunting in slight pain thanks to her unfortunate tumble. Trying her best not to let the panic get to her, she began looking around at where she had stumbled through. With a sharp intake of her breathe, she absorbed her surroundings.

Lush green of every tree and kind dominated with the sleepy sun slowly hiding under its horizon. The glimmering purple of the sky struck her in the very heart. It was so beautiful. And without meaning to, her gaze traveled further up into the sky, her home. Two world's lay besides one another, almost embracing. She smiled despite herself. They almost look like earthling lovers.

Rustle!

In complete fear, she rushed towards a tree and hid behind it. Her heart beat furiously.

The sounds of a heavy body trudging through the greenery frightened her as she stood frozen behind the large, thick tree. Without meaning to, Night Girl's knees gave out, splintering a stick that went with an audible 'crack', alerting her presence.

Suddenly, the air froze. The birds ceased their music and the fluttering of the trees by the wind settled down. Night Girl held her breathe, frightened by what may happen next.

"You see, child. It was really the first time a goddess as herself had come down from the Heavens. They were just simply forbidden from coming down. And when Night Girl, quite accidentally, broke that rule, she set forth a horrible tragedy to come."

"Wait. Ma, did the pretty girl die?" The child interrupted his mother.

"Tsk! Child, she didn't die. Just listen to the story." She chastised him sternly.

◾◾◾◾◾◾

"Ah. Where was I? Ah yes. The Night Girl had finally met a earthling, the very beings she was sworn to protect."

With fear and adrenaline rushing through her godly blood, she dared a peak from behind her tree, only to completely freeze. Within a few inches from her face was the face of the noisemaker. Shock held her in place as her vibrant eyes fastened on his, absorbing his every feature.

With eyes the very green of the fluttering trees and skin the color of ebony, Night Girl was mesmerized. Were these the beings she was to protect?How beautiful they are, she wonders almost in fascination.

Without meaning to and rather unconsciously, Night Girl had laid a hand on the cheek of the earthling. Her eyes widen spectacularly at the warmth of his cheek. She wonders, So warm. How come I'm cold?

The earthling yelped, snapping out of his ordeal. As he leaned back, trying to escape the goddess, he tripped over a jutting root, ending up on his bottom with his head laid and arms splayed.

"Night Girl was utterly confused. No longer frightened as she understood that he was one of the earthlings she protected, she crept closer towards the man. Her head tilted and her catlike eyes narrowed as she inspected his every feature."

"Human?" , she croaked out, her earthling language a bit rusty.

The man gasped, sitting up and pushing himself away from her. He was frightened by this mysterious yet fascinating creature. He was what the humans called a herder. His expert eye was intrigued by the unusual colors of her eyes, hair, skin and clothes.

The man replied with a soft yet deep voice, "Y-yes."

The Night Girl laughed.

"Some people say that she laughed because of the beautiful way his voice sounded like. And Night Girl was credulous of the man."

"Ma? What does cred-oo-lez mean?"

The mother sighs, "It means surprised."

"Ooh."

◾◾◾

"W-who or what are you?!" the man whimpers out, scuttling backwards, looking for his herder knife. His hands paused over his leaf-covered hidden knife as he gazed up at the beautiful creature before him.

Night Girl smiled warmly at him, her weirdly sharp canine teeth glimmering in the bright sunlight, "I am Night Girl. And you....are?"

The man was silent for a few moments, gazing up at Night Girl nonstop. The swirling blue of her hair mesmerized him the most. He'd always wondered what blue hair would've looked like.

Almost cautiously, he replied, "My village me the Dreamer."

Night Girl frowned, "Dreamer? What is that?"

The man becoming relatively more comfortable by the second, "It is a believer. Someone who views the world differently."

He wanted to ask her many questions, but alas, that was for another time it seems.

Night Girl smiled.

◾◾◾

"It was that day, child, that helped guide poor Night Girl's heart. It seems the miraculous (don't ask me what the means either) meeting was a setback for tragedy. Because as the days swept by, so did Night Girl's heart. Until that fateful day by the Golden Stone Gate."

Months had gone by ever since she had met Dreamer. He was an incredibly brilliant 'person'. She had found out that her earthlings were indeed persons. What an amazing discovery, really!

Yet....last week, she hadn't seen Dreamer. Nor the week before that. Not yesterday or today! Where could he be? She had another question to ask him. One she has been dying to ask! One about the warmth she feels within her chest at the thought of his name! He must know what that means! He must know why she becomes sick at the thought of him hating her and not caring for their friendship! Her very being sings with the color of his eyes. With the very beauty of his voice. With his gentle hands! Renewed in determination, Night Girl approaches the Golden Stone Gate.

With one stumbling step outwards, Night Girl watches as the Earthen world erupts in colors so lush in every shade. She grins, mesmerized until this day by the beauty of it all. She glances around, looking for any sign of Dreamer.

Rustle!

With a yelp, she leapt backwards as whatever had been within the bush rushed towards her, only to skid before her feet.

A-a rodent?

Night Girl laughed to herself. It was, but a rodent! She stepped over it and glanced through the rose bush. Something felt wrong as she gazed at their meeting spot. A scent so brazen lifted through her senses. A sudden fear clenched her heart as the Goddess crept closer to a jutting stone from the ground. The cherry tree (Dreamer had told her) looked sad as it branches dropped. What was going on?

She crept towards the unusual stone and placed a hesitant hand over it, trying to calm her racing heart.

-A Dreamer By Heart-

RIP

Without a word, she stumbled backwards with emotions of shock, grief, agony and confusion engulfing her being. She fell to her knees before the cherry blossom tree, tears cascading down her beautiful cheeks. Her heart broke and sobs rocketed through the earth. Her absolute agony couldn't begin to comprehend such a loss. The girl glanced up at the aching Sky that resembled her Dreamer's eyes. And slowly, as though by some Will, the sky began to dull in color and ever so gently, rain began to fall.

"You see, child. The Goddess fell in love with her Dreamer, and for that she had vowed never to come down to Earth. As the Golden Stone Gate was lost forever, so was the grave of her Dreamer. Some say she had lifted his grave to her world and some say in her grief, she had shattered the Golden Gates along with her Dreamers grave. However, it is for certain that the Night Girl had loved the Dreaming shepherd...", the mother ends with a whisper. Her voice echoing softly against the cell.

The sleeping child lifted his head and asked a question out of the ordinary," Ma? What is love?"