Eighteen years after I returned to Earth, I found myself stuck in a rut. I woke up, cooked breakfast, took Francesca (my daughter) to school (she didn't want to start driving yet), come home, clean, and watch daytime television. Later, I'd go and pick up Frankie, and we'd talk about her day (mine was always the same) and overall be bored until Jack got home. And then, we were bored as a family until we went to bed.

What a life.

"Burn a candle and guide me home."

That's what Sandy said, and that's what I do now. It became something of a habit for me; I put two candles on my window sill, and every night, I'd light one, and leave the matches next to it.

I don't know what I was waiting for. Afterall, after eighteen years straight of my hopes crashing down on a daily basis, most people would stop. Oh well. Maybe I just couldn't let go of the "old days."

What am I talking about? Of course I couldn't let go!

Anyways, one evening, my life was met by a drastic change.

"Alright, Frnakie, what are you going to do when you grow up?" I asked.

"Go to college, become an astronomer," Francesca answered, putting her black hair into a bun. "Can I go to bed now?"

"Yeah, yeah. G'night, Princess," I told her, retreating to my own bedroom. Jack was working late tonight, so I had the bed all to myself. Lighting the candle, I took full advantage of it, collapsing onto my side and closing my eyes.

It hadseemed like five minutes had passed, when, actually, it was several hours, when I woke up with a start and fell out of bed.

"MOMHELPTHEREISAMANINMYROOM!"

I almost grabbed the baseball bat in the closet - I would have, too, if I hadn't seen my candle. The one next to it was lit. "Frankie!" I shrieked.

I doubt she knew at the time, but Francesca was the last person on my mnid then. And that is how my story ends, and how her's began.

-Rocky E. O'Mallie