Two sets of eyes stare in awe up at a large, glistening castle as the sun hits it just right. It’s illuminated like a piece of heaven, with a spacious, green courtyard bigger than any playground they’ve ever witnessed. It’s speckled with flowers and bushes and trees of all sorts, plenty of places for children to run and play.
A squeal breaks the silence, and a little girl races out into the grass. She twirls happily, eventually falling to roll back and forth in her glee before finally resting on her side. She’s curled up in a tight, happy ball, unable to stop the flow of joyous tears.
The other quickly wipes away his own tears, forever trying to keep up the tough boy appearance. His form shakes with the held-back joy, and his fists remain clenched at his sides. Even as the tall, blond man they’d walked with welcomes him to the new home, he doesn’t let the dam break.
It’s real.
It’s real and it’s here and his heart can just explode from the sheer joy of finally having it. A place to call home, after years rotting away in an orphanage where you have to fight to survive. No, not here. Here, there’s comfort and space and always a warm meal when you need it.
The dam breaks, and he goes running across the courtyard like a brown streak. He tumbles, rolling until he’s by his sister. As they lie facing each other, silver hair falling into her vivid cyan eyes, dual-tone brown into his deep red, they hold hands and cry and laugh and just bask in the newness, praying never to wake from this dream.