It normal day at Lakewood, that's how everyone remembered it. But then again that's how April 9th started too, it was just a normal day only this time in the fall in Mr. Ratburn's 5th grade class. Some of his old students had even been in it again. Everyone settled into their classes just like every other day. Sue-Ellen was late that day though, and she'd regret every moment that she was late. All because of something that happened to Fern that day. Walking into class with a large headache she felt her legs shake as she walked into the door. Then she sat at her desk and groaned from her large headache as she grabbed her head in throbbing pain.

"Fern are you okay?" Mr. Ratburn asked her. She nodded slowly as it got a lot worse then she realized it would. She knew this was coming. She couldn't avoid it anymore. It hurt too much, but how was she going to tell her parents? How was she going to tell Sue-Ellen about this? Her head kept on throbbing for a while longer. She couldn't fight it anymore.

When she arrived Sue-Ellen saw an ambulance on the parking lot starting to drive off. She only saw the face inside of it for a glimpse of a second, but she knew that was Fern. She was shocked.

"Have a good day sweetie." her dad said as she got out of the car without replying to him. She walked into school slowly then grabbed her books and went to class just as slowly. Everyone was near the windows and no teacher was to be seen, and worse Fern wasn't there with them. Her stomach tied itself into knots as she felt a little sick.

"What happened?" she asked concerned for her friend. They all were concerned, but none more than her. This was one of her best friends after all.

"Fern fainted as Ratburn took attendance. Then he called the hospital and they took her away. She didn't look that great when she came in today." George explained slowly turning away from the crowd at the window. She sighed then walked over to him placing her hand on his shoulder. Things had been happening. Fern had been missing class more often, and nothing ever seamed quite right with the girl. To think that this is what it all had been leading up to.

"Everything's going to be okay George." She gulped. She had also lied to him as well, she knew nothing was alright at all. She was hoping that she was wrong though. That's all she could do for now was merely hope.

Fern woke in a hospital bed with an Iv in her elbow. A few tears came down her face and onto the bed's white blanket. It was the cancer. She had had it for so long she'd forgotten about it until that headache. She had been willing to fight it for all these years, but now she couldn't. She knew it was in her brain this time. She listened to see if she could hear anything from outside the room. Nothing except beeping and her actual heartbeat was all she heard. In her mind a decision was made as she wiped all the tears away and waited for her parents to come in and ask the same question they always did in the past.

Outside they were stressed again. It had moved to the inside of their baby's brain. A attempt of a treatment was offered to them, but it may not even work at all. Brain cancer was barely ever survived by people.

"Let's ask Fern about this alone please." her mother said as she turned towards the room and slowly turned the knob with a very shaky hand. "Ferny dear-"

"Mom I can't keep fighting it, this time I don't want to try a treatment. I want peace, and I can't have peace if a monster keeps living inside of me." As Fern spoke her mother ran back out of the room and started sobbing loudly into her husband's chest.

"She said no!" she cried out sobbing even more. They knew that the treatment would never work if Fern wasn't willing to fight the cancer. You needed to be willing to if you wanted to live longer. (I'm not making that up, I knew some people.) "My baby said no!" she sobbed even louder catching the attention of a few staff members and patients for a few seconds.

"Then you can at least say goodbye to her. Go in and see her, she's probably one got a day or two left." The nurse said opening the door for them. They both walked in and over to Fern. Her mother sat down on her bed as Fern scooted a little closer to her from under the covers.

"Fern baby, you know I'm going to miss you my angel. I'll always love you too." she said teary eyed as she hugged her daughter. "I'm sorry about the party I made you throw."

"It's okay mom I kinda liked it. I'll always love you too, even when I'm gone." she replied smiling as she hugged her mother. While she did she felt her hospital gown get slightly wet from her mother's tears. As the hug stopped her father put his hand upon her shoulder as she looked up to him like she did as a small child.

"Fern." he started as he smiled at his dying daughter.

"Yes dad?" she smiled back. She had found a way over the years to accept death as it came since she'd used to get so close to him at a few times.

"Well you gotta let me finish first. I love you, and want you to always stay strong please." he said getting teary eyed himself along with his wife.

"I will dad. You can leave if you want to." she said as they left looking there baby slowly for the last time. The sobbing went on from outside the room. Their baby was gone forever to them.

Inside the room Fern looked at the small dresser beside her bed to see a book and a pen inside one of the drawers. She started flipping through the book as she saw blue pen in different hand-writings. It was filled with stories, some were of their lives and some were of false stories like fantasies, historical fiction, and mysteries along with more. Fern took at least an hour and a half reading all of them 'till she had come to lined paper. She grabbed the pen off the dresser and started writing her last mystery based on all the events of her life. She wrote for a countless amount of time until she finished at the end of the book. As she put down the last period she slowly shut the book and decided to rest.

It rained the next day as Sue-Ellen drove to the hospital with her mom. She just starred out of her window as she saw trees, houses, and other things through tiny droplets that stained window. Her legs were up on the seat being hugged by the rest of her body. Nothing else happened in the car, the rest of the ride was dead silence. Not a peep came out of her nor her mom.

"Sue Ellen would you like to go see Fern? She's in the hospital, and this may be the last time that you get to see her." Her mom asked her. She had said yes and then they were off to the place yo see her.

The hospital was intoxicated with the all smells of different kinds of medications and other things. They all smelled horrible to her as they walked all the way up to Fern's room. When her and her mom arrived her mom let Sue-Ellen see Fern alone. Fern was awake and smiling at her best friend in her lonely white bed. Sue-Ellen smiled back to Fern weakly. She could feel the tears building up inside her eyes looking at Fern.

"Hey Sue-Ellen." she said rather chipper for someone that knew she was going to die.

"Hi Fern." she greeted back walking towards the bed. Then she sat on the bed along with her very best dying friend.

"Hey um Sue-Ellen, can ask you do to something for me." she said with some thing under her hand. It was the hospital book from the night before. Full of the mysteries and stories of her life. She handed her the book softly as she felt the the old blue dyed leather cover. "Could you give this to George for me please?" the book was out of her hands and in a deliverers'.

"Sure thing." she put the book down as the two just started to talk and do other things like play small games since Fern couldn't go very far with the Iv in her. That's all that happened until it was time for her to leave, and she didn't forget the book for George. Fern waved, but little did she know someone else was watching her.

He was watching her from the clouds. Each child has a music box and Fern's was running out of. The box collector paced around the room waiting for night to come once again, but she wasn't swift all. Night took her time properly, but he couldn't let night take too much time with this girl. He dashed to her box and looked frantically for the knob to wind it. When he found it he tried winding it back some more with barely any progress made from it. He'd just have to keep doing it until night greeted him with childish souls twinkling from the sky surrounding their mother moon.

It was one of his jobs to help them greet their mother by taking them to her kingdom of enchantment. It was Fern's turn to meet them, but he had to wait until night looking at himself in room filled with mirrors. A large brown coat and a red and yellow jester hat along with a black and white mask. As he saw his master get closer he tried to throw off the coat that revealed his thin physique with back and red cloths littered with diamond of the opposite colors. Large white cuffs upon his wrists and covering half his shiny black shoes. He kept on winding it backwards as night drew nearer to him.

He had a collection of music boxes, all containing such sweet tunes. Each time he'd be there to help them finish the conducting of the song that was sweet life. Then they'd become the sweet twinkling of stars in the night like same sound as their box once did make. He kept on winding it while trying to finish painting another one. It's paint was chipping off, they were losing their childishness and he had to paint it back on with jars of finger paint that he'd brush upon them.

Finally his master arrived as silently as she always did as stopped winding. Then he jumped up into the night air as his coat that loosely hung upon his body blew off into the breezes of darkness. As the darkness tried creeping up with him bounced from rooftop to rooftop like fleas upon animals. Up he went admiring the sky he helped make for a second then instantly fell down with breezes speeding him down then on instinct leaped back up.

As the hospital got closer to him he leaped as hard as he could launching himself onto the building's side wall and started crawling like a spider of the night. You'd for sure think him a fool if you could see him. He crawled swiftly and silently as he looked in windows to see lights out and many adults. Then he peered into a window to see a young girl awake. It was his guest for the night. Though he had no voice he'd greet her in the grandest way as he heard her music box chiming in his head. With no time to waist he opened the window and crouched at the sill of it as she looked at his mask.

"Who are you?" she sounded frightened. He stood and bowed as she walked closer to him but was stuck with her Iv. He then flipped of of it and touched the cord with one finger as it turned into butterflies. Then he reached out his hand as Fern seamed hesitant to take it. Then he stepped back and onto the ledge again. "Where are we going?" she questioned as she balanced herself on it as well. She looked down as he jumped pulling her along with him. Not much time left. The song was near its end as she screamed as he snapped out of his thoughts as he made the two fly. Then he let go of her hand letting her fly more freely.

Fly was what they did. Fly through the night. Over shimmering crystal blue and green rivers, through deep forests and jungles, and other places around the world including London. She had even sat upon one of the hands of Big-Ben for a minuet or two. Then he flew up as she stopped then followed him up as well. Up they went. Up into the stars as she gasped at the multi colored lights surrounding her at the moment. Then he pointed to the moon as he started flying hearing her music box.

"Why is there a music box playing?" the chiming sound went through her ears sweetly, but he didn't even look back at her. It was her's, but she didn't know that it was her box. Then she saw that they were getting closer to the moon. As the landed the entire surrounding changed from white stone to a kingdom made of blue, violet, and deep purple crystals. Then her clothes changed into a changed into a minty colored dress. The sleeves were to her wrists and lined with lace. It looked like she was a princess. Muffy would've been appalled to see herself in anything like this. It was so medieval she would've said. Fern looked up to see the jester with a crown of silver with small crystals on the front.

She was a princess! She was the princess of the moon! She bowed as the crown was slowly placed on top her head. This was her coronation! She felt overjoyed as it was placed atop her head. This was her crown. Though she had never really dreamed of being a princess that didn't mean that becoming one wasn't exciting at all, not to mention she was the princess of the moon! Fern felt like all of her fantasies were coming true, but none were her ideas. Maybe once she had been settled in then maybe she'd do more like solve the mysteries that would hidden away in her castle by other rulers of the past. He handed her the music box.

Then a bright light shun in her eyes as she covered them her sleeve. The jester jumped right in front of her armed with a sword as he clashed the bright light. Then beam of it grabbed her by the foot and started dragging her into it. She tried to escape from the grip, but it was too strong for her to manage anything.

"Help me!" Fern called out to him as she was being sucked into it. He ran over as fast as he could, but that was too late for the new young princess. She had been taken away by the light. Her music box fell to the floor from her hands and shattered into pieces of wood and finger paints. Lost to her kingdom forever she was. Inside he heard the children of the night weep to him. All the royalty was taken by the light. Heaven, hell, or hell was where the princess was now, and yet she could have been smiling beneath the moonlight instead.

He walked over to the broken music box. Sometimes he could fix them, but this time it was un-fixable. It was shattered into pieces, this wasn't something he could ever fix. He then picked up the ballerina that was held on the inside. White and cracked she was he sighed to himself. She would never dance without her arms and legs ever again. The disk with holes in it to make the music was broken in half. He picked it up then clinked all the holes trying to play that sweet song of life once again. Her's wasn't the sweetest, but seeing them shattered was heart wrenching to look at for the kingdom. He put it in a case with all the other shattered boxes.

In the dim room there were messes trapped in cases. They all had belonged to many different children. Some of them were taken by the light, and some others were shattered only accidentally. A child's life was fragile and precious. Most of them were not royal though. This one was royal though. A child's life was very fragile and very precious. There was one shattered by cancer and the light. He took all the pieces and put them in an open and empty one. As a moment of silence he took off his hat and placed it on his chest while listening to the simple sounds of the night before walking off the balcony of the castle and jumping off back to the workshop of many music boxes.

When the morning came the doctors saw her body. Doctors just ended up thinking that Fern Walters had died of her brain cancer seeing her body on her bed, but what they would never know she flew at night with a very mysterious stranger. And no one seamed to have noticed a small minty green butterfly with a red diamond on its wing had placed itself to rest for a bit on her room's windowsill.