Everything around Emma was dreary and grey. She was officially cast aside like an old toy that a child got too old to play with. She looked down at her ruined shoes. She found them interesting. From the holes in the sides to the paint on the toes. She was truly alone.

Now everything was gone. She was alone and felt betrayed. Everything Emma once held dear, her family, was gone from her forever.
She looked at her hands, cold and pale, too lost in her thoughts to even notice that someone had appeared to her, like a sudden fantasy.
Emma looked up, suddenly surprised at who was standing in front of her. Someone who she thought she once knew.
"Aaron?" She asked aloud.
Emma saw him nod his head. She looked at him questioningly, wondering why he had suddenly appeared in this dream.
"Emma." His voice was like a dream all in itself. It made her thoughts vanish suddenly, but they made a reappearance almost too quickly.
Aaron was someone she was once so close to, but he had left her, just like everyone else. He was always so caring to her, but she never expected the day that he had vanished, only to reappear here. And now.
Suddenly her thoughts were penetrated with his voice once again. "Why are you here?" He asked her in a soothing voice.
"Why are you here?" She avoided the question by asking it herself.
He hadn't changed. Nothing about him did. Not in the four years he had went away. His hair was the same messy blonde and his eyes still the same beautiful shade of green. He even wore the same clothes he did the last time she saw him.
"Why are you in this place." He asked once again, ignoring her own question.
This time, she knew she would have to answer. "You know the answer to that."
He nodded his head, trying to understand what she had told him. "I thought you had more time."
She looked down, not wanting to look him in the eyes. 'So did everyone else.' She thought the words, but she couldn't bring herself to say them aloud, but she knew he understood.
"What now?" She talked aloud this time, looking him in the eyes.
He gave her a smile. "There are plenty of things we could do. But one thing's for sure. We can stay together forever."
She looked away again, this time not down, but everywhere else. "You know, forever is a long time."
Emma heard Aaron laugh at that. "Isn't that the point?"
Emma sighed, trying not to look disappointed. She wanted to be with someone. With him. But there was a part of her that felt like she couldn't trust. Not just him, but anyone. "What if you get sick of me?"
Aaron gave her a reassuring smile. "I have been watching you for years, and even now, as you stand in front of me, you still surprise me."
Emma felt her cheeks get warm at that statement. "Y-you watched me?"
"Of course. Even though I left without warning, I couldn't forget you. You were always on my mind."
Emma looked down, not sure how to respond, or even react.
Aaron took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes smiling. "C'mon. There is something I want you to see."
Emma squeezed his hand and nodded her head, giving him the permission to take her away. As a few seconds go by, she finally realized that the surroundings changed. They were in a clearing, surrounded by trees with so many different flowers of many different colors. It was hard to believe how they came from such a dreary, grey setting to a brand new one, full of color and life.
Everything around Emma was beautiful and for the first time in a long time, she was happy. So happy that the thought of him still holding her hand didn't make her embarrassed, but her heart still pounded. Even though she didn't think that was possible.
"Th-this is amazing." Her voice wavered as she said the words. She felt breathless. Everything around her made her feel that way.
Aaron laughed joyfully. "I thought you might like it. I wanted to make you something that you could look forward to."
Emma looked into his green eyes. "Made it?" She asked.
Aaron nodded his head. "Just for you." He reached his hand up and twisted a strand of her brown hair around his finger with his free hand. The other still held her hand. "All of it is just for you."
Emma felt something in her heart at lift. A feeling of happiness. A feeling that she was wanted. Finally wanted by someone. And she cared for him too.

Aaron watched Emma's expression. She was smiling. Something that he hadn't seen in a long time.
Making her smile was all he needed. He smiled at her in return, feeling happy to be with her at last. to be able to make her smile.
He expression changed suddenly. "There is something else I want you to see."
Emma looked at his serious expression on his face, but she nods her head, this time expecting sudden change in scenery.
Once again she looked around, seeing something totally different than before.
They were standing on a pond. Mist rolled over the water and through the surrounding trees. The trees were dark or dead and the water of the pond, almost black.
Aaron spoke. "They call this the Looking Glass. You can see anything you want to in the water. I have spent a lot of time here."
Emma remembered when he said he had watched her.
"You can look into your past and you can see anything you want to see in the present."
Suddenly Emma thought of something she didn't want to. Her parents came to mind and the water rippled. Everything went utterly silent as she looked into the water. She saw her parents as they have always been. But this time it was different.
They were crying. A funeral? Her eyes went wide as she realized whose it is. Hers. Emma focused on her parents and she rolled her eyes. Fake. She knew the tears were fake. Meant to make people feel sorry for them.
She shook her head to clear the thought, thinking back to something happier. Her pale cheeks turn pink as she looks into the water. The night that she will always remember.
She thought back to that day. The stars were shone through clear skies. The moment she saw in the water was her favorite moment in her life.

Emma and Aaron sat and watched the stars in their favorite place. It was the first clear night of the year. The spring night was chilled and although every tree around was dead, it was still the most beautiful thing that Emma saw.
The stars were bright and beautiful around a full moon.

Although Emma loved the image in the water, it made her sad. It was so beautiful, but she knew what followed, was something that made her sad for so long.
Now it could go back to how things used to be, when everything was like a fantasy. Or a dream.
But it wasn't this time. She was happy in this reality.