[ IP ] Frozen moon and night

Charles coughed feebly. Stirring every so slightly, his eye lids flickered. His mother sat by his bedside, singling softly and gently brushing a cool cloth over his forehead. Sweat beaded his brow, and his pale lips and flushed cheeks overtook his handsome features. Jet black hair was matted around his face. 
 
 `` Mum.'' He rasped. `` Mum, I... I had the most lovely dream.'' His mothers eyes shimmered and she brushed his fringe to the side lovingly. `` I.. I...'' 
 
 `` Shh now, Charles.'' She whispered, a small smile breaking through her worried features. 
 
 `` Can you... open... the window?'' He barely seemed to have the strength to speak. `` I want to... see the blanket.'' 
 
 Genevieve complied and opened the window, briefly closing her eyes and letting the breeze tease her hair. Sitting back down she began the story. 
 
 `` Once, long ago, there was only darkness in the sky from when the sun set to when it rose.'' 
 
 `` I know this one.'' He breathed. It was not an admonishment, but a sigh of recognition and contentment. 
 
 `` That's right.'' She nodded, wiping away a tear. `` And then one day a hole appeared. Right there.'' She pointed out of the open window at a bright star. `` It was the first soul to pass from this world to the next. When it passed through the barrier separating life and death, it left a hole.'' 
 
 `` It left a hole in the blanket.'' Charles smiled, his voice seeming stronger. `` So that we could see through from underneath to the light above.'' His voice was barely more than a whisper, but it did not falter. 
 
 `` Yes. And as more people passed from this earth, more holes appeared in the barrier that separated the living from the dead. As time passed, people began to worry that one day there would be too many holes, and that the living would pass into the realm of the dead before they were meant to. Ever since then, the souls that had been lost waited on this earth until a doorway opened for them to cross over.'' 
 
 `` Like a lighthouse.'' Charles sighed, falling deeper into his pillows. 
 
 `` That's right. Just like a lighthouse.'' Genevieve placed her hand over Charles' cold finger tips. `` And that is when a round portal opened in the sky.'' She gestured towards the moon. `` The portal was open to all who parted company with their earthly bodies so their souls could cross over and be home, on the other side of the blanket, forevermore.'' She waited for Charles to chime in, but only silence greeted her. 
 
 Charles looked down over the scene. Everything was eerily quiet. He saw he shoulders shaking as her body covered his in the bed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, called to her, but all he heard was a gentle breeze. He turned slowly, trying to locate the origin of the sound. Up. He turned towards the great orb in the sky and the breeze grew louder. Not like a storm, but like the leaves rustling in autumn. He floated out and up towards it. 
 
 Cautiously approaching the silvery doorway, he peeked through it. There were vibrant colors, children and animals running through green meadows, lovers lounging by a crystal clear lake, birds singing the most lovely and bittersweet melody... He was drawn to this world with every fiber of his being versus the grey world behind him. But he could not go through. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his family gathered around the bed. His father holding his mother with a look of pale shock on his face, his sister kneeling on the edge of his bed shaking his leg hard, his dog with paws on the pillow licking his face. 
 
 A breath of air warmed his ear, and he turned back to the vibrant world through the door. 
 
 `` Charles.'' That was more than a whisper of wind. An ethereal form shone around him, and it seemed to exude happiness. Waves of contentment and lightheartedness washed over him. `` Why do you hesitate, young one?'' 
 
 Panic seemed to break the charm. `` My family. Why are n't they here? Why are n't they coming?'' He cried, his voice breaking. 
 
 `` It simply is not their time.'' The being said shifting so that his shoulder grew warm, as though it were a comforting pat. 
 
 `` What if they can not get here when it is?'' 
 
 The being said nothing for a moment, or maybe an eternity. `` I can not guarantee that the door will be open forever, child. But it is open now, and you are here to pass through.'' 
 
 `` No.'' He said sharply, turning firmly away from the light and joy. `` If they are stuck wandering this earth, I want to go with them.'' 
 
 Suddenly the doorway seemed to shrink and it became shrouded in clouds of darkness. `` Here is what you are up against.'' The shimmering golden mist showed him. 
 
 `` Then I will protect it.'' Charles said, pulling the doorway close to his body. 
 
 Whenever you see the moon shrouded in clouds or temporarily obscured by the darkness, do not fear. The doorway will be protected until it is your time to pass through.
