The moment I found out that Robin Williams had died was the very same moment that something inside of myself died as well. He was an actor and a comedian that I turned too whenever I felt sad inside, or broken and hurt, and just knowing that he is no longer in this world, and knowing the way that his life ended, it left a sadness in me as I type this. That wasn't what Robin was about though. He was about happiness and laughter, and giving it to us, and letting us smile even after we feel like smiling is impossible. I've cried tears for Robin, but those were tears that were drenched in memories of laughter and smiles.

Quote of the day:

"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

- John Keating, The Dead Poet's Society

The stars above the city were shining as Aladdin sat by the Genie's side on one of the many balconies of Agrabah's palace, and the two of them sat in silence together, with nothing but the Heavens above them to keep them company. He had been a street rat, the lowest of the low in the City-State that had been his home for so many years, and Aladdin came to a realization as he turned his head just slightly, his dark eyes resting on the Genie who stared so intently, perhaps with a twinge of sadness too, at the stars that were so high above them, and at the black of the night that was Agrabah so close to dawn.

He knew that he owed so much to the Genie that had practically stumbled into his life that one night so long ago when Aladdin had first found that ancient lamp, but as he watched the Genie, as he tried to make sense of the way that the Genie's eyes glistened just ever so slightly as said eyes remained upon the dark sky, he knew that he owed him for more than just his magic. It was true that the Genie had made him a prince, had saved his life in the many years that they had known each other, but there was more than just that, more than Genie had been obligated to do or grant him. The Genie had shown him love, had made him laugh, had been there in the dark pages of his life when he thought that he was at his lowest, and had stood by Aladdin's side through so many of the passing and fleeting moments of life, but perhaps most poignant of all, perhaps most dearest, the Genie had been more than a genie; he had been his friend.

"Genie?" Aladdin began to ask, needing to get something off his chest, but not quite wanting to interrupt whatever deep thoughts that Genie might have had when staring at the stars in the black sky of Agrabah.

"What is it, Al?" the Genie asked back in a voice that was more a whisper than anything else, his eyes not leaving the Heavens all the while.

Aladdin smiled, his words being more simple than they were profound. "Thank you."

For the first time that night, the Genie looked away from the sky and instead towards the young man who had been sitting at his side the entire time. "Thank you?" he asked, the corner of his lips quirking into a small smile. "For what, pal?"

"For everything," Aladdin answered with a shrug, dropping onto his back as he spoke, all the while wondering if his eyes could find the same star that the Genie had been staring at with such importance, "for changing my life, you know? For being here all these years later. For making me laugh at the moments when I thought that I couldn't, and for making me smile whenever I've felt the saddest inside. Thank you for sitting with me out here in the dark, and for doing everything you've done in my life. Thank you for being my friend."

A flicker of happiness danced across the Genie's sad eyes, and he looked up at the night sky again, the Genie toying with his magic for a moment to make the stars out there in the universe shine brighter than they ever had. "You don't need to thank me for that, Al," the magic being paused as his gaze trailed to that faraway star once again that he had been staring at for most of the night, "I'm just happy to be here tonight. I'm just happy to be here with you."

"Sometimes," Aladdin started again, a tug in his heart telling him just what it was that the Genie was feeling in that moment, the would be prince's eyes watering for a second, Aladdin feeling it too, "sometimes I just want moments like these to last forever."

"Forever," the Genie whispered back with a sad smile on his face, forever to a human being nothing but a moment in time for someone like him, "forever means different things for different people."

The two became silent again, life and death, and all the happy and sad things in between being with them in that moment. They were alone, just the two of them out on that balcony together, but at the same time they were nothing if not in a crowd of friends and memories. The Heavens were with them that night, all the stars that shone brightly in the sky, and even the more brilliantly shining moon that was forever watching, forever promising things, and forever giving those of the world things to dream for, and things to strive for. As Aladdin and the Genie watched the Heavens, and as the Heavens watched them back, each of them wondered on just what it was that was waiting for them up there, and on what adventures was theirs to have when their time on Earth finally came to an end.

"I'm," the words caught in the Genie's throat as he spoke, all the while tears brimmed in the corners of his ancient magic eyes, "I'm gonna miss you, Al."

It was in that moment that Aladdin truly knew what it was that had been tugging at not only his own heart, but at the Genie's too that night. There was love between them, and a friendship that Aladdin had always wished was something that everyone else in the world could experience as well, and he smiled the same sad smile that Genie had just moments ago, tears brimming at his own eyes as well. His eyes didn't move from the Heavens above though, and they didn't move from the sky that was so very black that night. For a moment he felt at peace, and his smile only grew larger as tears finally began to stream down his face. The stars were shining brighter than they ever had before.

"I'm gonna miss you too."

Goodnight, Robin, and rest in peace. Genie, you're free.