Early morning light beamed in Aurora Hayes' bedroom window, casting beams of golden yellow across the walls. Aurora cracked open her eyes lazily, stretching under her blanket and beaming to herself. Downstairs, she could hear her mother giggling, her father talking, and the sounds of her father putting dishes into the dining room. Home. She loved mornings like this. At the tender age of sixteen, she felt lucky. All of her friends always moaned about their parents, and about how their houses were not happy and loving places. Her parents were amazing and Aurora knew how lucky she was. "Get up, you!" her mother called from downstairs. Aurora chuckled. "I'm up, Mom!" "Rally up! Before your dad eats all the pancakes, you better get downstairs fast!" "I'm coming!" Aurora hurriedly jumped out of her bed. She walked into the bathroom and fixed herself up quickly. A few minutes later she ran downstairs, the smell of delicious pancakes engulfing her. "Here she comes!" her father grinned as Aurora entered the room. Aurora beamed and planted a kiss on her mother's cheeks before taking a seat in the dining room chair. "Good morning." "Morning, sweetheart." Aurora's little brother, Ethan, rolled his eyes. "Can we just get on with it, please?" Everyone burst out laughing. The Hayes weren't a rich family. No mansion, no nice cars. But it was enough. They had a nice house. Dinner on the table, and, most important of all, each other. Aurora wouldn't have traded her life for anything. "So," her father said over their delicious breakfast, "how's the school going?" "Great." "Just great?" her mother giggled. Aurora's face beamed. "I got the highest scores for English, too." "That's my girl!" her father laughed. "Don't you get them wrong?" asked Ethan with a groan. Aurora grinned. "Occasionally." "Tell us one time." "I can't remember." All at once, they broke out in more laughter. Then, things couldn't have been more perfect in Aurora's life, yet she had no idea that everything was about to be changed. Aurora loved school. Not the homework, or the exams or the stress, but it had made her dream. She would dream of a future where she lived and built something. A future where she could travel, see the world, meet people, achieve success and most importantly on her own terms. Aurora wasn't her age in terms of how she looked at things. She knew there were others like her but for the majority, the future wasn't on the list of things they worried about, it was Aurora though, she worried about the future. After the day was done, Aurora was alone in the library. Her best friend, Maya. What is it that you are writing? She asked. Aurora covered the notebook. Nothing. That meant it was definitely something, Maya grinned. Aurora laughed. Fine. She handed the notebook over to her. Maya opened the book up. Her eyes widened. Wow. What? She asked. You literally wrote all this? Aurora nodded at her words. She had notes in the notebook, plans, goals, things she had for business ideas, places she wanted to go to and things she wanted to achieve. She was sitting looking at a piece of paper. I want more from life were the words. Maya had a smile on her face. You mean it right? Of course, you don't want to stay here though? Aurora shook her head no, I love my family but… What? I want bigger, Aurora replied looking out of the window. Well, Maya replied looking at her and smiling, I know. Aurora closed the book and smiled to herself. One day she would achieve everything and she didn't know what the book was about but unfortunately for her, that book would soon become why her life fell apart. Aurora walked into the house, her mother and father standing in the living room to receive her. "Hi Mom, hi Dad," she said as she stood before them. Her father smiled at her, welcoming her. They had never seemed so serious until she spoke, and she couldn't resist asking. "Are you guys okay?" Her father smiled broadly and nodded; "Yes, we are." She gave them both a little smile and headed up to her room. Her parents looked to each other worriedly. They had never felt this way before and did not want Aurora to see. Minutes later, she sat at her desk in front of her notepad, pen in hand and a smile on her face. As she had said before she could start her own company in the future, it seemed. People would talk of course, they always would, they would talk of her as the crazy dreamer, a young dreamer that had no hope of ever realizing what she wanted to happen. They would never make it, the dreamer, the crazy dreamer. But Aurora was not going to let anyone talk her out of a hope. No one can take away that. You dream on for free, Aurora knew. And the more she dreamed the more she wanted. Someone knocked on her bedroom door and she called for the person to enter her mother. Mom sat on her bed and looked around the room. "You have been working a lot lately." "Yes, Mom," Aurora smiled. "I am just thinking about what is going to happen later down the line." "Do you, honey?" she nodded. "I want to do something more with my life, be more, be different, make a difference." Aurora did not stop. Her mother looked as if she wanted to tell her, but Aurora had already spoken. Aurora did not stop either. "Like a business, maybe own a company someday." Her mother stared at her. No words came. "Maybe a business." Her mother just stared at her. "Maybe a company. Like a business or something." Aurora looked into her mother's eyes and she saw the worry in them. "You might not agree but you have to let me do my own thing. I want a life that I choose, a life I make, not one that is handed to me on a platter. One I do myself." Her mother said nothing. Aurora continued as she always did. "I might start a business. I might make a company. Something meaningful. A life I choose." Her mother did not say a word. Aurora looked at her mother. She knew it was only the beginning of this new feeling of worry and doubt and sadness that she saw now. She saw it for the first time ever and she was not certain her mother wanted her to have that life that she would make. Aurora paused for a moment to let her mom speak up and make a comment but she said nothing. Aurora's mom nodded with a smile. She smiled and said. "You must go to sleep now." Aurora said, "Ok." "Goodnight dear." "Goodnight Mom." Aurora looked out the window at the night before her. It was calm, quiet, a beautiful night. She closed the notepad and set off her lights before she slept. She had never known that her parents could think the thoughts they had, that they could look at her with such a sadness in their eyes. They had not known, that the future was going to bring them much sadness, much anger and disappointment. But her dreams, her future dreams she could not foresee, and her parents could not see her either. Sometimes the people who love you the most are the ones who see you most clearly, and who see you as the person you are, and as the person you are soon to be, and as the person you will never become. And that was what they saw then, and that was what they saw Aurora's future, the future that they could never imagine.
