It lingered there, a smile that sat on the window sill that was her mouth.

She was a doll, a plaything, an item of no significance. That’s what went through her mind but failed to travel throughout anyone else’s. To everyone else, to me, she was the key that unlocked every impossible door. She was the sun, the moon, and the stars. She was all the planets and the comets and the meteors. She was an entire galaxy, and there she was, looking at me with her brown button eyes, a bag in her hand and a smile on her face; a whole universe in front of me, and all I could say was come in.

It was December 31st, and it seemed as if all of the golden angels spread their ivory wings and flew up to heaven and all of the fiery demons with their corrupt callousness fell into the pits of hell just so I could be alone with her.

The night had been flawless, simple yet complex. We played board games with friends, and she made fun of me like she always does. Her sarcasm spat out of her mouth like fire and blasted me, almost burning my freckles off. When everyone else disappeared, I led her outside just before midnight. The sky looked like bubble gum ice cream, the clouds covering the stars, yet they still peered out. It was a flurry of fluff and frost all bundled up with the shiny ribbon of the stars.

We climbed onto the roof of my car, wrapped a blanket around us, and threw our eyes up to the sky. We sat there until we both were icebergs attached to one another with icicles streaming from our bodies. It was two minutes before midnight.

We got down to go inside. But before I opened the door, I stopped her. She stood there, her face full of wonder and candy cane daydreams. I felt pure. I felt as if all of the pain, all of my struggle had been leading up to her looking at me like that. For once, I knew I could have a new year. A fresh, fruitful start. The stems inside of me could sprout. She could make the flowers bloom inside my soul. She represented a year of possibilities, a year of love, a year of release. So, I kissed her. Simple as that. Oh, and I told her to have a happy new year.