"Once there was a girl who lived in a world, as all people hopefully do. If they don't, may angels bless them. This world was, and possibly is like ours, I don't know.
This girl was named Star, after the angel that protected the skies of her world. Star was quite happy, up until she was about nine. As a nine year old she wanted to know, to learn, to absorb the ink from pages that she wished would tell her things.
Star realized she wished she didn't live in a paper world. In a world that could so easily tear, and change. She wished she lived in a more solid world, like the bricks of her house; like the stones in the Blue River.
Anyways, if you decide to sit around the fire with me, you might learn secrets of the heart, and slight of the hand. Remember, you are in a new place, you don't know who my guardian angel is, you might not have awakened yours. One more thing, as we get on in our journey of words, it might take me a while to tell you parts of the story. I am getting on in my years, three months until my death."
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]