Dear Beth,

I hope you are well. I have a great story to share with you this time! But first, how have you been? Our parents? Tell them I say hello. And tell me all about the new school year, have you decided on a career course yet? Also, has the ship been repaired yet? You know it's difficult to get reliable news these days, but I hope this letter at least reaches you.

Of Earth I can tell you that our work has had some small impact. We have so far cleared most of the debris from the settlement, but in terms of air quality it may be decades before it's completely safe. Besides that, all of my friends have been well, as well as our cousins. Mary and Charlie say they miss you, and Lucy arrived safely just last week.

Now, I'm sure you've been wondering all about the story I promised. It all happened yesterday when Charlie and I, and a few others, were sent to clear out a section of a field to get started on the farm (already, can you believe it?), and I was clearing away some old scraps of metal. It was a cloudy and dusty day, but a few rays of sunshine had sneaked past. And right under that metal, sunlight hitting just right, were bright yellow roses, living in the dust. The whole team was shocked. And I could've cried.

It has been at least ten years since I last saw a flower. I suppose you have never seen one, perhaps in a picture if your school has them. And well, I wanted to let you know what it was like. I wanted you to know that even in this broken world, there are still beautiful flowers. I included a photograph from the archives, the flower I saw was similar. I hope it'll brighten your day.

Goodbye Beth, I miss you.

Your brother, Grant.

POEM ONE: its one pm its time for bed that doesn't rhyme i have no time thats too bad but i feel sad as this is fifty points and my teacher it will dissapoint(s)

POEM TWO: once upon a time there was a poet it was either that or drop out

POEM THREE: what do i see? i see my future running far from me

POEM FOUR: hatred is a feeling i feel at the moment for no reason

sadness is what i feel when i have to complete certain assignments

fatigue my favorite

POEM FIVE: the end the end? the end! the end

*sorry its late please dont take points off

I run frantically through the Moonlit Forest, branches snapping violently at my arms. I hear birds flapping their wings and smell the lingering presence of smoke. The night keeps getting darker and darker until I look up and realize: the stars are going missing. They blur across the sky and then... gone. All gone. Gone are the leaves on the trees and the birds in the sky and everything is a blur until there is nothing but tears in my eyes and I am alone in a darkness so profound.

Then I wake up, my heart racing away from me. Am I dreaming still is this real is this... I see a bright purple eye, and then it blinks away. I stare wide-eyed, and to my surprise, the light returns, flickering on and off. It seems to give the impression of being... curious.

"Hello," it says, drawing closer. "I am no eye."

I gasp. Had I said it aloud? Perhaps I am still dreaming.

"What are you?" I ask. What else is there to ask?

"I am Night, Taker of Dreams. I took your nightmare away..." the light says gently.

"Why?" I ask.

"I am a being of the Forests. Did you not wish to forget the Trials you faced? I have taken the dreams, Star will take the memories..."

"No," I say. "Please. I want to remember."

For a moment, the light seems confused. It flickers rapidly, it's purple light shifting between blue and red. But then it settles. "As you wish. The dreams are yours."

And mine to overcome.

The light leaves, and I fall asleep once more.

I wake up, truly wake up, in the Sunrise Forest. I feel refreshed, right until last night's dream resurfaces in my mind. What a dream, to be back in the Moonlit, to realize I had lost everything all over again. But this time it was as if the whole world had faded away and left me drifting in the void left behind...

And then there was that brilliant light. A spark of recognition tugs at the edges of my mind and just as quickly it is gone.