"…Let me be the only one
to keep you from the cold
Now the floor of heaven's lain
with stars of brightest gold
They shine for you, they shine for you
They burn for all to see
Come into these arms again
and set this spirit free."

-- from the song "Love Song for a Vampire" (from "Bram Stoker's DRACULA") by Annie Lennox

When I was nine years old I had a dream, one unlike any other I'd ever had, or have since had. I dreamt I was sitting at home, reading, when I suddenly got thirsty and wanted to get the glass of water I had left on the kitchen table, which was a good ten, fifteen feet away. I looked up at it and envisioned holding the glass in my hand, and before my very eyes it rose up off the table and came to me. I held out my hand. The glass came to my open hand and I didn't spill a drop.

There was more. I suddenly remember having to go meet someone. Someone new, someone different from any other person I'd ever met, someone I loved. Stepping outside I broke into a jog, and when I leapt into the air, I didn't come down, but flew over the trees like… like Peter Pan or something. To my disbelief, I was flying! I had never seen houses from this angle before- they were just rooftops. Up ahead I spotted an old, beautiful building in the midst of a small forest. There was a basketball court in front, and as I approached, I could see someone standing there, waiting. Something in my gut told me that's him- that's the person you're, ahem, flying to see. Something was different about him. He was built almost like any other man you'd meet on the street, but his hands and feet were slightly different. On each hand he had three fingers; his ears and teeth were pointed, his eyes were yellow and he had a tail. But the one thing that stood out the most about him was that he had dark blue skin! I could see him smile when he saw me, and he started to wave.

"Hey!" The man cried. I noticed he had a German accent. "Hey, Erin! Welcome home!" We were both smiling as I landed, and I ran to him, throwing my arms around him in a hug.

"I'm glad to be back," I replied happily.

That's when I wake up. It seemed I had the dream most often when things weren't going right for me, like when something made me mad. It was almost as if the dream was coming as a way to make me feel better. And it did. I always felt very safe throughout the dream, especially when I was at that place and with the blue-skinned stranger. It brought me much comfort when I would have a rough day.

That was half my lifetime ago. I am eighteen years old now, and I have been on the run since the age of thirteen when I found my brother Michael and his friends smoking behind the shed in the backyard of our small house in Raleigh, North Carolina. It flipped me out so bad because I looked up to Michael; he was my big brother… that and I was allergic to the smoke, but I wasn't worried about that when I saw him. I wanted so badly to just take the cigarette away from him and destroy it that, before I could do anything other than think it, the cigarette came from Michael's hand and floated towards me. I was stunned at what was happening, everything was spinning. I grabbed the floating cigarette and ran, just after stomping it out in the grass. I ran to my room, slammed the door, and leaned against it, panting. From inside my room I could hear the frantic voices of my brother and his friends as they tried to figure out how a cigarette could possibly float through the air like it did. Could it have really been me? Could I have actually made that…. darn cigarette float through the air like it had, and right to me? On my bed I saw my Irish dance shoes. Okay, I thought to myself as I raised my hand. The shoes are in my hand. To my astonishment I watched as the soft-toe shoes rose from the bed, floated towards me and stopped, right above my hand. I reached up and took them.

Oh, my God.

What was I going to do? I had to get out of there. What would my parents think when Michael told them what had happened? Something was the matter with me and I didn't belong with my family anymore. I suddenly realized that right then and there. Giving a sigh I sadly looked about my room at the posters I had lining my walls- Colin Dunne, Jean Butler, Michael Flatley, Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Dancing on Dangerous Ground. I had to laugh for a moment. Yeah, I sure was dancing on dangerous ground at this point. I decided to take them all with me. I couldn't leave my stash of Irish dance stuff behind. My family was Irish. My parents were both born, raised, educated and were childhood sweethearts in Dublin. They moved to Raleigh when Michael was four; I got my fiery, wavy red hair from my mom and my bright green eyes from my dad. Most of my family was still in Ireland; I had one set of grandparents in Dublin and the other in Limmerick.

Pulling out my suitcase from under my bed I immediately began to stuff it with clothes and things I would need- the essentials, basically. When I had all I really needed, I began to pack other things into my backpack- my notebook, both pairs of my dance shoes, a couple books, music. Luckily the posters I had on my wall were all from a magazine, and had creases in them from where they had been folded to fit into the magazine. I took them down, folded them up and stacked them neatly inside the pocket of my suitcase. The "Michael-with-cigarette" sighting had happened just after dinner, so by the time I sat down to write my parents a note, it was dark out.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I love you guys. You gotta know that. You are the best parents in the world, and I don't want either of you to forget it. But… something came up and I really have to go. I realize I don't necessarily belong here anymore. Tell Michael I love him always, despite… things. He will always be my older brother. I will try to call you when I get the chance. Take care of my room for me. That is all I can say now.

Love, Erin

I went to bed that night, and after I made sure everyone was asleep, I pulled on my coat, grabbed my things and headed for the window, making sure to leave the note on my desk. Reaching over to my bedside table, I grabbed my watch and what little jewelry I owned, including the lucky bracelet I had gotten when I was six. It was huge for me then, but now it fits perfectly. The climb out the window wasn't difficult, as I had done it many times before to sit out on the rooftop and watch the stars come out. I knew all the constellations by heart.

I had no idea where to go at that point, so I started to brainstorm. New York City sounded good; I'd always wanted to go there. The main highway wasn't too far ahead, so I began to jog to try and get my mind off of things. Suddenly I got this light feeling to me, as if I would blow away if the wind picked up. I remembered my dream. Try jumping, I thought to myself. The day before, this would have all sounded so stupid, but after what had happened earlier that day, it didn't sound so bad. I took a running leap, and sailed in the air. My God, it worked. I started to laugh.

"So much for my driver's license!" I cried in glee as I soared over trees, houses and roads. I came up on the highway in seconds, and decided to follow it north until I got to New York City. If it had been fifteen years earlier I would have looked for the World Trade Center, but for now it would have to be another point of interest. Aha, I smiled. Lady Liberty.