There was a small group of people outside of our world. This world. Our world. People born eons ago, made to keep things balanced for us. Some are more known than others, like Life and Death. Other get overlooked or misnamed, like Serendipity and Dreams. And then there are those who have been forgotten all together. Those like Hope.

Hope was beautiful. Full bodied and dark, like a rich wine or a well-aged whiskey. She had freckles all over her body, peppering her face and dotting her shoulders and creating constellations over her thighs. She wore colorful clothes and forgotten prints, clothes woven years and years ago. Her hair changed frequently, she kept it short in the summers and grew it long when she migrated to cooler climates. It was curly and wild, like her spirit. Full of light, despite the darkness. When it was long, it was slicked back into a thick braid. Or many braids. Or buns.

Her hair was changeable, just like her.

Hope was gorgeous, in every sense of the word. Oftentimes, she went unnoticed by the world around her, not because she was in anyway unremarkable, but because she chose to travel along a different plane, one outside of what mortals could see.

Hope was born shortly after Life and Death in order to keep us going. In order to make us try despite the finality of death and the crushing weight of loss. She was crafted out of stars and moonlight in order to break through the darkest of our times.

Hope was perfect.

He came to know hope while he was in the hospital. It was a long day, a day full of tears and family and bloodied sweatshirts. It was the day his aunt got into a car accident. Lauren.

She'd been out to get gas in the car. His cousin wanted to use the car the next day, so his aunt went to put gas in it. Lauren had asked with a flip of her hair if anyone wanted anything from the gas station while she was out. She was only 33. He'd asked for an energy drink, for which his mother scolded him. He remember what Lauren said after that. "Lighten up. He's a growing boy!" She'd winked at him before climbing into her blue Nissan and driving off. She was gone a while, by the time an hour had passed, the whole family was worried. And they got the call about the accident just after that.

So they all piled into the car, unsure of what to say or what to do. He held his cousin's hand all the way to the hospital.

It had been a long night, that's for sure. Nurses had come out to give them some of the stuff she had with her. A bloody sweatshirt, which his mother took. Her purse, which her daughter took. And an energy drink, which the boy took. He didn't open it. He didn't want it anymore.

They were sitting in the waiting room. Waiting for news of how she was doing. The plan was to get her stable enough to make it through the night, then take her in for surgery tomorrow morning. They were supposed to have gotten the all clear by then. It'd been hours.

His mother tapped him on the arm. She jerked her head towards her niece, who was asleep now. Head on her father's shoulder. He was also sleeping.

He looked back at his mom, and she pointed to the hallway outside of the waiting room. He followed her out.

"What?"

"It's been a couple hours, baby. She should have been cleaned up by now."

He stared at my mom. "What are you trying to say?"

His mom faltered. "I mean that... We should have heard good news. And no news is bad news, especially if you are here."

He was silent.

"I just- I just want you to be... prepared."

"No! I am prepared to hear good news. That's it! Because Lauren is gonna be fine. Lauren is gonna be great!"

He didn't mean to yell. He just wanted to be clear. There was nothing but good in his head. Nothing but hope for what was to come.

His mother scoffed. She turned and she went back inside the waiting room without anything else to say.

And that's how he met her. Because a voice rang out from behind him, a voice that sounded like a bird calling to him.

"You know, you have more hope than anyone else I've seen today."

He turned, expecting to see anyone other than the woman he saw before him. The gorgeous dark skinned woman, with a bright skirt to her ankles and eyes like hot chocolate.

"I- I'm sorry, excuse me?"

"Listen, I've been here for 3 days now. I noticed there was a disturbing lack of hope in this building, but you? You turned the tides. I felt a whole new energy around this floor, it was beautiful."

He watched as Hope's eyes fluttered closed. It was like she was having an experience of pure pleasure. Her mouth was drawn up in a smirk, her lashes were gently moving against her cheeks, and her freckles seemed to glow and pop out from the bridge of her nose.

He smiled. He found her happiness infectious, he really couldn't help himself from grinning like a fool. He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck and ducked his head, like he suddenly felt too tall or too goofy.

"Oh, baby, don't get uncomfortable! It was nice to feel something like this again! You should know how happy I am to actually feel clean hope again."

He stared at her, unsure of what she meant. "May I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Okay. How can you feel hope? And how can a whole hospital be devoid of hope? This is, like, the place that hope should be most, right?"

Hope smiled. "It should be. But sometimes it isn't. There's run-of-the-mill type hope, the kind that's guaranteed. Like when you come in for a routine check up or test. You know it will be okay, you hope it will be okay, but really there's no need to hope. You know it will be okay. That kind of hope, that's not my specialty. My specialty is and always will be the kind of hope that doesn't make sense. The kind like you hope like... hoping your partner will love you even though there is no real assurance of that. The kind of hope like hundred to one chances and still hoping for that one. Its-"

"Beautiful."

Hope looked up, stunned that the boy before her would understand this kind of trusting. It was, yes, beautiful, but it was also something else. It was... terrifying.

"It is. Beautiful. Its scary, too, don't forget that. Hoping when there is no reason to, it can be scary. Putting your faith into something that doesn't make any sense."

He smiled again, knowing all too well how scared he was for his aunt. Knowing that his mom was right, even though he had all the hope in the world for this to work.

"Don't worry, love, good things happen to those who hope."

He smiled, feeling somewhat relieved. He felt right. He felt less scared.

Hope smiled, feeling like if anyone might be able to keep hope here in the hospital when she left, it would be this boy.

When the boy looked up again, looking for Hope, he saw that she had disappeared. She'd disappeared quickly, no doubt heading to the cafeteria to meet with the man she had recently fallen in love with for all his hope and happiness.