Laying asleep with her delicate locks strewn haplessly across her face, a tangle of legs and blankets and the steady slight snore of her breathing filling the room she was beyond the clatter and noise of the household. In her realm of reality mixed with impossibilities, at times providing fantastical experiences and at others delivering great terror, she drifted delicately. On this night she landed somewhere in between. No wicked witches chasing her nor did the skies rain candy. She was merely re-enacting an ordinary moment from the day but with different faces in similar places. It was during this night, in this most ordinary of dreams that something life changing happened. Through the crack in the window, the gods drifted in on the air and whispered the most humorous of jokes into her ear. When she awoke she would not recall the joke, only the humor and she’d carry a grin on her face that entire morning. When asked by her parents the meaning behind her grin she could not explain herself.

In the years ahead this humor will reside deep within her and in times of stress or anxiety provide great comfort. The warmth that contentment brings will radiate from her and affect those around her. She will grow up to be known as the girl with the infectious smile. But it’s more than just that. Much more must exist far beneath to create what we see on the surface. The humor left by the gods will affect her life, each long, full day.