“Close your eyes. Close them tight. It's alright, everything will be fine.

Good night my sleeping beauty. Good night keep you still while you dream.
Dream of everything that you wish to be.
Good night my sleeping beauty.
I'll love you always.
I’ll love you till the moon fades away.

You’ll feel different when you wake but be the same to me. You beautiful girl, you’re precious to me. Sleep now a marvelous sleep. We will meet again soon after your slumber so deep.
Your true love will wake you as you already know.
Do you know who that is?
Who will wake you? How?

Your heart will remain the same.
Remember that every day.
You may feel different, but true love shall never change.

Good night now my dear.
Sleep now, beautiful girl.
Sleep beautifully, sleeping beauty.
I love you Aurora.”
                                                                      ~
Fairytales are true. Not because they tell us lies about villains, dragons, and other evil creatures, but because they tell us that they can be beaten.
She’s the pastor that blessed me and the surgeon that cursed me. My aunt, Doctor Reverend Sarah Pernicious Sinclair. She was no witch, villain, or super villain for that matter. She was maleficent.
                                                                 ~
Every parent remembers their child’s first scar. Their first hint of imperfection. The proof that your child is not as perfect as they appear.
I was born with a hole in my heart. At my first check up, that was the disgraceful imperfection that my aunt pointed out.
“Stephen this is life threatening! I insist on repairing it!”
“There’s nothing to be repaired. Her heart is whole and loving. Anna’s beautiful the way she is.”
My frustrated parents argued with her for seemingly hours over whether or not open heart surgery was necessary. In the end, my aunt insisted that my heart be repaired at no charge.
My parents agreed and the date was set.
The operation would take place on November 17, 1990.
My 16th birthday.
  ~
A week later she conducted my christening ceremony.
“Family and friends, Stephen and Aurelia have gathered us here today to express their joy in the birth of Miss Anna Aurora Sinclair. May she grow happily, beautifully and spread joy amongst everyone she meets.”
Then she gave me a journal. The journal has a quote each day for the next 20 years.
Over the next years, the journal taught me how simple life really is. The only thing you have to do to enjoy it is to be happy. It explains the complexity of life.
                                                        ~
April 10, 1980:
“Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.”   - Ann Landers

I had just finished playing outside with my “boyfriend” Phillip. His dad, Hubert, had found us holding hands under the playground and snatched us apart, dragging me home in misery. He scolded us the whole way home lecturing us on love. What did he know? Mr. Hubert had divorced twice. His current wife, Phillip’s biological mother, is stunning. She has the flair of Audrey Hepburn, and most importantly, she had a heart of gold.

~
September 11, 1984:
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.”  - Helen Keller

Three years later in 5th grade we did an experiment. In this experiment, we learned that your heart really does feel love, and that your chest tightens slightly when you feel connected or loved by the person you’re talking to.
Over the next few weeks I continued experimenting. In the end I learned to trust my heart. Who I loved, and who my heart loved were often two very different people.
~
August 6, 1985:
“Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.”  - Euripides

The summer of 6th grade, Phillip moved in down the street. This meant that we would not only be friends again, but we would navigate the obstacles of middle school and high school together. My parents, friends (Lily, Samantha, Caroline, and Charlotte), and I went next door to help them move in.
“Hello Mr. Hubert!”
“Anna, my goodness! You’ve changed a bit since the last time I saw you!”
Mr. Hubert hadn’t changed a bit since I’d seen him last. But his wife looked dramatically different. Before she had the admirable flair of Audrey Hepburn, but now she looked drowsy and deprived.
Then a tall boy rocking out to his Sony Walkman quickly diverged my attention.
“Phillip!?”
He had changed dramatically. He looked tall and strong and like an older version of the Kid-Phillip I had known.
“Anna!?”
He asked sounding as astonished as I felt.
“It’s good to see you again.”
Then my heart tensed. It tensed much tighter than it should have.
Suddenly a black dot appeared out of the middle of nowhere and traveled towards me getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it engulfed me. And everything became quiet and black.
Is this what love feels like?
                                                                         ~
                                                                               
Girls’ Day with Aunt Sarah was an annual tradition. We spend the day getting manis and pedis at The Painted Poodle, we eat lunch at Savor, and grab ice cream at Ice Cream Central. We do the same thing every year. I waited on the front porch for her to pull around the curb in her old Nissan 300ZX.
“Aurora!”
“Aunt Sarah!”
I tried to force as much enthusiasm as I could. I hopped into the car and buckled in as she continued to blast her Old School Hits station. I could only hope and pray the neighbors weren’t watching.
“What’s up!?”
“Not much, just the usual.” I replied.
“How’s life?”
“Fine.”
Luckily, The Painted Poodle was less than five minutes away from my house, cutting our pursuit of conversation short.
Suddenly, my heart tensed again, and the big black dot reappeared. It approached me slowly, getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until I was engulfed in blackness and silence...
~
Suddenly light flooded my sight. It was so bright it made me feel nauseous. And it was loud. I could hear my parents and Aunt Sarah arguing, and the beeping of an annoying machine.
“This has happened twice now! Will you just let me go on and stitch poor Aurora up!”
“ANNA, is twelve! Can’t we wait four more years!
“She has an Atrial Septal Defect! Do you know how dangerous that is!?”
What are they talking about? I was obviously getting to learn a lot more about myself by eavesdropping on this argument. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep again.
Then suddenly the beeping stopped, and all attention was turned to me.
Rats, the machine gave away my awakening.
“Anna.”
“Hi dad.” I replied.
“Let’s go home.”
~
August 9, 1985:
“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” 
-Charles Spurgeon
As soon as I got home I grabbed Merriam Webster and flipped frantically for answers.
Atrial (noun):
an open area inside a tall building that has windows to let light in form above.
one of two sections of the heart that take in blood from the veins.
Septal (noun):
a dividing wall or membrane between bodily masses or soft tissue.
Defect (noun):
a lack of deficiency of something necessary for adequacy in form or function.

Later my parents confessed the truth. They confessed the horrid, atrocious, appalling truth. But every villian, dragon, witch or wizard can be beaten.
That’s the undeniable truth that every fairy tale tells time and time again.
~
November 16, 1990:
“Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
  Phillip’s mom passed away from cancer during our freshman year of high school, leaving everyone devastated. Then Lily switched schools, Caroline’s parents got divorced, and my surgery was announced. The past two years left a dark shadow over this small town. But as we always have, Hailey, Idaho will find the light at the end of the tunnel.
~
November 17, 1990:
“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.”
                                     - Thich Nhat Hanh
                                                       ~
“Close your eyes. Close them tight. It's alright, everything will be fine.

Good night my sleeping beauty. Good night keep you still while you dream.
Dream of everything that you wish to be.
Good night my sleeping beauty.
I'll love you always.
I’ll love you till the moon fades away.

You’ll feel different when you wake but be the same to me. You beautiful girl, you’re precious to me. Sleep now a marvelous sleep. We will meet again soon after your slumber so deep.
Your true love will wake you as you already know.
Do you know who that is?
Who will wake you? How?

Your heart will remain the same.
Remember that every day.
You may feel different, but true love shall never change.

Good night now my dear.
Sleep now, beautiful girl.
Sleep beautifully, sleeping beauty.
I love you Aurora.”
                                                                  ~
“When will she wake up?”
“We used a cheap form of anesthesia.”
“What does that mean!?”
“She’ll wake up when she feels the energy in the room from the person that loves her the most.”
“What are you talking about? There could be a million people on this earth that love her enough!”
“Just remember, I gave you this procedure at no charge! I have to conserve money some way! Hopefully one of those million people will be in the hospital soon.”
“What will happen if there isn’t anyone here?”
“It’ll wear off eventually, but she’ll be sleeping for a long time.”
                                                        ~
My vision was blurry, but it was clear that it was just Phillip and I in the room.
“Phillip?”
He had changed dramatically. He looked tall and strong and like an older version of the Kid-Phillip I had known.
“Anna!?”
He asked sounding as astonished as I felt.
“It’s good to see you again.”