There has to be more than this. They think that by locking me into these stone walls I’m no longer able to dream…but that can not be farther from the truth. I can see the beautiful blue shimmer of the sky. I have my window and, therefore, I have my dream. Most people think that I have everything I could have ever wanted. I have riches, a family in power, and these breathtaking jewels. But what does any of that mean when I don’t have freedom? The freedom to do what I want. The freedom to explore! I want to feel the desert sand between my toes. I want to learn and read about those things I shall not know. I want so much more than anything that can be made my man here on earth! But I can never let my father, the King, know. My parents would shame me. They would lose their respect for me. They would take away the things I do have…and those are the things that are the most valuable of my possessions.
All I have is my dreams if I can’t have the knowledge and the adventure I truly seek.
That’s why I need to keep my most prized possessions safe. I will guard them with my life until the day I die. As I have been sitting on the ledge by the night sky and breathing in the cool air of the river, I have been living out my dreams in my own way. I have been mapping out the stars I see each night with my compass. It’s the part of the day I look forward to most. They create such wonderful patterns every night. New characters come to life before me. They speak to me in such a unique way. It’s as if each night provides new memories. New stories I will hold on to forever and revisit as often as I may. What I love about the stars is the way they seem to change over time. They never seem to be sitting in the same place the way that I am forced to. They seem to move about and head on to other things. They move around our world and see all of the wonders I so wish I could see with my own eyes. Yet, they are never gone for good. They always return as the seasons of the year turn. While I can’t join them myself, the stars have never forgotten me and my dreams. They always return like an old friend…Peering through my window waiting for me to welcome them with a warm embrace. They tell me of the wonders they have seen without me. They connect me to the things that, no matter how hard he tries, my father will never provide for me.
But, oh! How I love the breeze of the river! It’s the clarification of the hug I’ve been longing for from the stars. They understand me. It may sound crazy, but… By learning to understand them they help me understand myself. The stars are my freedom. When I’m with them, and don’t have to worry about anything else, I am being myself in my truest form. I am becoming one with the stars themselves when I spend time with them. I am as much a part of the night sky I’m looking at as the stars are. That’s my true family. And it forever will be. Even after I am asked to take over my father’s throne. For I will always maintain my foyer by the window, my map of the stars, and my compass guiding my explorations of the night sky. If I didn’t keep this… I would lose myself. I would have nothing.