My Light

"Sis, I'm getting kinda scared," the young boy said to his older sister, clinging the hem of her coat tightly. "Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of." Lilly and her brother, Oliver, had been out all day, running errands and then iceskating at a large pond located in the middle of the forest till the evening. It grew dark and Lilly was smart enough to bring along a flashlight. "Here, with this, you have no reason to be afraid of the dark," she said, turning the flash light on, lighting their path. Lilly was a bright young girl who always thought positively. Her long blonde was shiny and silky to the touch, her brown eyes shined with such radiance. Today she had clothed herself in a normal shirt and jeans, over that she had a yellow, thick coat, a blue scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a pair of boots on her feet. Her brother was carrying their skates with one hand, and holding on to her with the other. "But sis, I'm still scared," he said, huddling close to her as they walked home. "Here then," Lilly stopped walking and held out the flashlight out to him, "you hold the light and I'll carry the skates. Would that make you feel any better?" "I guess." They traded items and continued walking. Even with the light in her brother's hands, Lilly could still feel Oliver shaking next to her. "Come on Oliver, we have light, there's no need to be scared." "But . . . . the dark is so scary." Lilly chuckled. "Now, now, the dark is just the dark, the creepiness of it, it's just an illusion. Just think of happy thoughts, and all your fears will go away. Kay?" " OK sis, whatever you say." They continued onward. 'Come on, we're almost there, I can feel it!' Lilly thought. She felt her brother tug on her coat, signifying that he wanted her attention. "Sis?" "What?" "I'm really cold." "Ugh, I told you to wear more then just a jacket and sneakers," Lilly scolded. She sighed and knelt down at her brother's level. "Here," she removed her scarf and wrapped it around her brother's neck, "is that better?" "Yes, thank you." "No problem." All of a sudden, the sound of a twig snapping was heard, and out of fear, Oliver dropped the flashlight and began to run in the opposite direction of home, screaming. "Oliver!!! Come back!! You're going the wrong way!!!" Lilly screamed, dropping the skates and doing her best to stay on his trail. Tonight was a full moon, and thanks to its light, Lilly was able to stay on Oliver's tail. He continued to run until he ran out of breath, stopping and panting, his breath shaky and short. Lilly dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. "Shhhhh, don't worry Oliver, I'm here," she said in a soft voice, trying to calm the boy down. "Lilly . . . . . that scared me to death!" Oliver said, burying his face into Lilly's chest, trying to hold back sobs, "I hate the dark, it's just so scary!!" "Shhhh, hey, I've got something for you." Lilly reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a pin. The pin held a little, silver angel figure. "I was gonna save this for Christmas, but I think you need it now." She pinned the angel onto his jacket. "Wha . . . What is it?"Oliver asked through his tears. "It's an angel of light. And as long as you wear it, the dark can't do anything to you. Got it?" Oliver lightly touched the pin, a small smile grew on his face. "Got it," he hugged his sister tightly, "thank you Lilly, you're the best sister ever." "Heh, not to mention the only one, haha!" Lilly stood up and dusted the snow from her jeans, "now, let's get home!" "Right!" But as they tried to go back the way they ran, Lilly couldn't recognize the way, seeing as she'd never walked along this way before and the fact that they no longer had the flashlight, even the moon's light wasn't helping. After an hour of walking, her brother tugged at her coat again. "Yes?" "Sis, I'm really tired," he held his arms up, "please?"Lilly sighed, but squatted down so he could climb onto her back. "Thanks," he mumbled. Lilly continued to walk, a feeling in her gut was telling her that she was going the wrong way. After another hour, her fear was confirmed. They were lost. And to make matters worse, the temperature had dropped significantly. "Hey Oliver, you awake?" she asked Oliver. He didn't answer. "Oliver?" Gently, she set him down against a tree and examined him. He seemed to be asleep, but his lips were blue from the cold. She pressed her hand against his forehead, it felt like she was touching a frozen lake. 'Damnit! He needs help fast! But I have no idea where we are!' She pulled out her cellphone. There was no reception anywhere she tried. Out of frustration, she threw it into the snow. "No!!" she yelled. She knew that she might have a chance out there overnight, but if her brother didn't get home soon, he'd die of frostbite and hypothermia. "I've gotta keep him warm." She removed her coat and wrapped her brother in it, doing her best to shield him from the cold, then she picked him up in her arms, carrying him bridal style. " OK, just gotta keep walking," she said, trying to encourage herself. Another hour passed, and still no sign of the path that would lead them home. The night brought the cold to its' worse, and now without her coat, Lilly could now feel how cold it was. 'I can't give up!' she looked down at her brother, sleeping in her arms, at least she hoped he was just sleeping. 'If I don't make it out alive, I at least want him to make it.' Exhaustion forced the girl to stop walking and sit down, leaning against a tree with a large trunk. She exhaled loudly and laid her brother on her lap. To her relief, he woke up. Looking up at her, he asked, "Sis? Are we home yet?" "No, not yet, but we'll make it, don't you worry," Lilly said, kissing his forehead, flinching from how cold it was. "Sis . . . we're lost, aren't we?" Lilly didn't want to answer, knowing that answering and giving the honest answer would scare him even more. She just hugged him close, trying to hide the fact that she herself was terrified. 'Even if we must wait here for morning, I might make it, but he . . . . .' Lilly buried her face in Oliver's hair and silently let her tears leave her eyes. "I'll protect you," she whispered to him. "You know," her brother started before a coughing fit made him stop. Afterwards, he continued, "you'd make a great angel of light," he said, smiling his innocent smile. Lilly smiled back, hoping to lighten the mood, "Heh, you think so?" "You're beautiful, caring, kind, smart, you're not afraid of the dark, and you also make the best cup of hot chocolate!" Lilly giggled at that last part. "When we get home, I'll make you the best and biggest cup of hot chocolate you'll ever taste." "Mmmmm, I can't wait!" "Well, I've rested long enough, let's get going." Lilly gathered her brother into her arms and began to walk again. About half an hour later, Lilly came across a half-frozen river. She gasped and smiled, happy to finally come across something that she recognized. Crossing this river meant she'd just be yards away from the town. She hugged her brother tightly. "Oh Oliver!! We're almost there!! We just gotta cross this river!! We're gonna go home together!!" she said happily as he cheered along. She hopped into the waist-deep river, trying to ignore the numbing effects and stinging pain the cold water delivered to her legs. The river was calm at the moment, flowing steadily and smoothly and chunks of ice flowed with it. Lilly thought nothing of the ice chunks, until they suddenly increased in size. A huge gust of wind suddenly blew, and Lilly could feel the river running harder and faster now. She heard something up the river, she looked and her eyes widened, ice as large as dinner tables were coming down the river. She forced herself to move faster. But as she was a few steps away from the other side, a chunk of ice blocked her way. She knew that if she dared to try to get to the other side by climbing on the ice, the river would just take it away, leading both her and her brother deeper into the forest. An idea came to her head, but she knew that it could mean that either she or her brother, or both would perish. At this point, though, there wasn't much of a choice. She looked at her brother. "Oliver!" "Y-yeah?" "I'm gonna shove you onto this piece of ice, once on it, make a break to shore, you must be quick though, OK?" "B-b-b-b-b-but, wh-what a-a-about y-y-y-you?" Oliver asked, fearful for his sister's safety. She gave him a tender kiss on his cheek, warming him up a bit, "Don't worry about me, just go." She gave him one last squeeze before hauling him up to the patch of ice. He stumbled towards the other side, but Lilly saw that the ice was moving away from shore. Knowing that there would be no hope for her brother if she didn't do something, she swam to the end of the ice that was facing downriver, secured her feet onto the bottom, and with her body held the chunk in place until her brother made it to the other side. "Lilly!!!" he screamed out, tears pouring from his eyes. "Oliver!! Walk down the path you see before you!! That should take you back into town!!" "Lilly!!!! You said . . . . You said we'd go home together, and that you'd make me a cup of hot chocolate when we got there!!" Lilly smiled, her legs were screaming in pain, begging to be released from the pressure of the ice chunk she was pushing on and the current of the now raging river. "I'm sorry . . . . Oliver. I love you bro!!" "No!!! Lilly!!" Lilly uprooted her legs and was washed away with the ice chunk, while her brother screamed her name over and over again as if calling for her would magically bring her back. He continued until his throat was raw from shouting so much and eyes red and puffy from crying. After a while, Oliver wiped away his tears and walked the path he was told to walk, knowing that he wouldn't be there if it were not for Lilly. He looked down at the angel pin and gripped it tightly. "Sis, you were always my angel of light." ~0~ Lilly's sacrifice was not in vain. After walking down the path and then collapsing from exhaustion, Oliver was found by a kind stranger and taken to the hospital. Luckily, none of his limbs were too damaged, so he didn't need amputation. He told his parents what happened and they sent for people to go and search for the girl, or at least, her body. Weeks passed, and they turned up with nothing.