Serenity sets the mood
A misty and quiet groove
Fireflies light the darkened path
And crickets chirp their tunes
The moon has given its white-washed bath
Of perfect silver lunar charm
And stars wink down on forrest line
Leaving no room for pitch alarm
Darkness is friendly
When accompanied by light
And shielded by hooded figure fair
For she walks only when the sun is gone
Exuding depth, the shallows beware
She glides along the shadowed path
And lingers at the foothill, long

I’m not a perfect person.
You know that, but I thought I’d
tell you what it’s like to be
the girl I am.
And yet, I really do not want
to tell you everything because
I am not who you think
I am—
that's just the way
I am.
And right now, I am
struggling with telling you
what’s most important, yet
I’m really dying to tell you
all about myself.
And now, I think that
I will stop
with pen and ink this
scratching on my
paper, for I do not want to
bore you any longer.

As the glowing sun set behind Knight Manor. Isabella Knight a beautiful 21-year-old girl was finishing the last few touches on a surprise birthday party for her mom and uncle her mom’s twin brother. Bella scribbled on a piece of paper the last couple of items she needed to grab from the store.
‘Cake, candles, and balloons.’ thought Bella as she ran out the door to her black truck and rushed to the store. As Bella picked up the last few things on her list her phone rang.
“Hello” “Bella honey, it’s dad is everything ready for your mom and uncle?”

By the end of my first day of teaching the following week, the ball seemed years ago, a distant memory buried under an avalanche of paperwork, schedules, lesson plans, grading, and assignments. Had it not been for Devorah Erren’s insufferable boasting to the other girls about the ball (she being the only one of the class whose parents had allowed her to attend) I might not have thought of it at all.
By the middle of the week, however, my thoughts had turned to the upcoming festival that I was to attend with Mira and her family.

In my hands I hold the world
A pot of gold I seek to find
My pathway: beams of sunlight, pearled
The rainbow’s end in light enshrined.

The night around me closes fast
Blue skies now deepen into black
I look up to the heavens, vast
For fear of unforeseen attack.

Look! Yonder, there a shadow road
To where it leads, I cannot say.
Dark silhouettes of creatures goad
A swifter flight by moonlit ray.

Where hurt abounds, it raises up,
It lifts the hearts of men on earth
Bringing purpose, crushes gloom
Arresting spirit at its birth

It promises a brand-new start
A melancholy heart it cheers;
When waiting in anxiety
It gets the better of our fears.

Where life exists it will be found,
If even just a hint of it;
And where ‘tis found, it cautions us
The slightest fear not to permit.

“Who is God?” the little girl asked. “What is he like?”

I had never been asked that question before. Uncertain, I paused.

“God lives up in heaven,” I answered, then hesitated. What did one tell to a little girl who had never heard of God? “He loves us very much, I guess. He made the world, and you and me.”

“I thought Mummy made me.” Frowning, she looked up at me with puzzled brown eyes.

A crowd noisily gathers in the auditorium, sometimes in large groups, occasionally trickling in one by one. Little do they know what goes on back stage. But if you open the door…

Prologue

The Globe Academy was established for the pure purpose of pushing students to the very limits of their human capabilities. If anyone had high hopes for their children, they tried their hardest to get them into the Globe.

- He sprinted through the empty hall, hugging an arm around his side as every step sent another shot of agonizing pain riding his spine.

In Echoing Halls
What is this room, replete with crucifixions,
Nativities, a dozen "Madonna-and-Child"'s?
The Renaissance. Who else shows Roman soldiers
In full knight's armor, Mary in Italian gown?
But note that sparkling reflection -
The gilded Bethlehem Star
Echoed in gilt embroidered dresses
And haloes framing faces, eyes cast down,
Or else lifted with hands towards heaven's heights.