How am I supposed to respond to this? I wasn't a painter in my life. I don't know the simplest thing about painting aside from 'put paint on paper and make art.' I might not remember if I was a man or a woman, but I know damn sure I was not an artist. When did she suddenly get it in her head that she wanted to be an artist anyway? Sylvianna never bought her any paint supplies and Celestine never doodles with the writing utensils she's given. She doesn't know any more about art than I do, so why?

Actually, this could work out in my favor. If she wants to paint, there should be an art school somewhere in this world. And a travelling artist would be an excellent way to see the world. I just had a different vision of exploring the world in my mind. Like a mage that travels the world with a party of friends as they adventure forth slaying monsters and seeing sights you couldn't even dream of. Exploring dangerous dungeons and old crypts full of undead. Sailing the oceans looking for lands and new cultures! All of these are perfectly within the scope of painting, but she can't do these things and still be the weak little girl she was going to be before I showed up.

"" I attempt to pry her off my body, but she's got a vice-grip on my torso. ""

"I don't know what you're saying, and I don't care!"

"" I said and snapped my fingers, signalling that I am manipulating the dream again. She wants to be a painter, I will give her something to paint.

First thing I did was separate her from me, then I manipulated the ground and sky. I remade the world from the darkness I had left it in the dream world. The table was tossed aside, the cushions, I got rid of those. I left the bear where it was, though.

First thing I willed into existence was the ground. A rocky soil mixture with sparse and thin patches of grass. It would all get covered up anyway, so there's no reason to work on this in too much detail. Next, on one side I would raise two mountains. Not great big mountains like Everest, but mountains of a scale that would take a day or so to properly climb. I put them right next to each other and overlapped them a bit. Next, rolling hills. I tore up the ground, lowered it in some spots, raised it higher in others. The only spot of level ground left was right where we stood. From the ground, I grew pine trees. Thousands of pine trees grew in the matter of seconds, covering the faces of the mountains and growing on top of the hills I sculpted all around. I made special care to randomize them such that they didn't appear artificial, like they have been growing wild for hundreds of years. I left several bare patches, including on the flat ground we stood. A clearing was important to marvel at the beauty I was creating. On the clear and level ground, I built a wooden cabin. Two stories tall with a chimney rising out the front. The cabin was an L shape turned onto its side if you looked at it from above.

Top top everything off, everything gets a blanket of snow about three inches deep. And finally, a clear night sky full of stars with the Milky Way spanning from one horizon to the other; with Earth's moon hung in the sky. Not quite full, but visible enough for the world I created to bask in its cool white glow. The countless trees covered in snow glowed brilliantly in the distance. The mountains dominated the distant landscape, dwarfed only by the immensity of the galaxy of stars above.

Aaand time resume.

"Wha- WOOOOOOOOOOOOW! Woooooo-brbrbrbrbbbrrr..." That got her attention. This is a girl, who has never seen snow before, has been suddenly dropped into a snowy winter wonderland like this. If she was older she would have had a heart attack. I even gave this land the feeling of cold you would expect this place to have. Celestine, being in the nightgown I changed her in to and wearing no shoes at all, was instantly cold. Meanwhile I stood there after covering myself in a heavy overcoat, heavy boots, and a thick wool cap.

"" I mockingly said, bringing the white translation square back to her vision.

"NO F-F-F-F-F-FAIR!" She whined.

""

"Th-this is s-s-still a dream?"

""

"Nnnn-no, I cc-c-c-can walk myself!"

"" I said. No finger snapping. It wasn't needed. Instantly, a brisk wind blasted against both of our faces, picking up snow and completing the atmosphere of this place. Lovely wisps of snow in the distance were disturbed off their resting places by the abrupt wind. Huge swaths of powdered snow blasted off the caps of the mountains.

"D-d-d-d-don't do that! F-f-f-f-f-fine, carry me!"

"" I walked to her and lifted her up into my arms in a princess carry. Not that this was necessary. The way she was now, she was barely the size of a four year old in her dream. I just want her to look up at the stars. I manifested a blanket on top of her, then I picked the teddy bear and put it in her arms.

She stayed silent on the walk to the cabin, eyes glued to the unfamiliar sky, the mountains in the distance, the snow underneath us, the bright white ball that is the Moon in the sky, and the blue hue of everything around us.

"" I asked, the white translation square appearing in her vision.

"N-n-n-no. I don't want to share this with anyone. Amazing..."

I walked up the wooden steps outside of the cabin and casually opened the door. No need for locks, because who else is going to enter? Once we're inside, I pause for a bit to finish the interior. To the right is the staircase to the floor above. No need to work on the second story just yet. Behind the staircase is a door to the bathroom. We're currently in the front entry way, which doesn't immediately open up into a living room like you'd expect. There are a couple desks on the opposite side of this entry way to the door and an empty bookcase between them. The living area is to the left. I carry Celestine through the house and pass an archway into the living room. It combines the two stories into one great big room. The fireplace is made of rounded stones and mortar all the way up the wall. On the far wall, large windows span to allow for a full view of the mountains silhouetted against the starry sky. For furnishings, we have two full couches, one against the far wall and one facing directly at the fireplace; two recliners, one opposite of the first couch and the other between the two couches; and a rocking chair sitting beside the fireplace, back to the wall. In between all of the chairs and couches, a knee-high rectangular coffee table sat. Behind the second couch, an elaborately decorated dark wooden dining table with six matching wooden chairs pressed against the sides of it. Against the near wall, a small table with a chess set and two metal chairs sat, ready for anyone to play. The floor is wood panelling with two large red rugs to add more color to it. There are many pictures hung on the wall. One of a tornado in a thunderstorm. Another of a quiet rainforest scene with a stream flowing over rocks in the middle of the day. To the right of the dining area, a bar separates everything from the kitchen, complete with a stove/range, refrigerator, sink with a window above it, plenty of counter space, and a door to a walk-in pantry.

The only sources of light in this room were the fireplace and what little light leaked in from the windows.

Everything is just how I left it. And I like it that way.

I carry Celestine over to the couch in the middle of the fireplace area and lay her down on it. I then move to the recliner to the left and sit. As I sit, the overcoat, hat, and boots I wore disappeared.

The translation square still floating in her vision, I spoke. ""

"Is this where you lived when you were alive?" She asked, her attention on the paintings on the wall.

"" Wonderland doesn't have a direct translation for her language or if it does, she doesn't know it yet. So I just wrote 'wonderland' in English on the translation square. "" Meditate doesn't have a direct translation either, so I went with 'praying' for lack of a better word.

"It's beautiful..." She said, sighing and resting her head against the cushions of the couch. The warm light of the fireplace danced shadows over her face as she stared over at me with awe. Her brown eyes sparkled, watching this being she just met with a level of admiration that should only be given to one's parents.

Did I make a mistake in introducing myself to her? Did I make a mistake in showing this place to her? Her mother and the acolytes of the church already believe me to be a god. I don't need Celestine thinking of me as one now either. That's not what I want. But how can I change the image of myself from one of reverence to one of friendship and trust? What do I say next, now? What do I do?

I want to see the world and she wants to paint. There are stories of wandering bards in fiction from Earth. Men and women who go from place to place singing songs of their journey, using their beautiful voices and lovely instruments to rouse the hearts of their comrades with song and magic. But there aren't many stories of wandering painters doing the same in my memory. There might be stories like that in this world, but none of the stories Celestine has read gave any mention of them.

Ahhhhhh, I wish Gene was here. He was good with words, although he spoke little.

"Um, Novos?" Celestine broke the silence first.

""

"It's fine." She giggled at my random question, as if I should already know the answer. "I prefer it. Anyway, can you help me?"

""

"To become a painter. What else?" She said that so matter-of-factly. I had forgotten the reason she suddenly hugged me before, despite just thinking about painting. I am way too scatterbrained right now.

""

"What did you do when you were alive, Novos?"

I did fuck all, but I don't want to tell her that. I wasn't even employed, according to what's left of my memory. I never even left the house much. I didn't travel anywhere on Earth. My only window to the world was through a computer screen and what little I read when I was in school. "" I lied. I didn't want to lie to her, but I didn't want to disappoint her either.

"Nnnhnn," she responded by waving her head back and forth with a hum, "No reason to say you're sorry. I'm sure you were a great writer. You could make places just like this in your mind and you can control dreams! You could play the stories in your head and put them on paper, I'm sure!" She started waving the teddy bear in her hands. "Hmmmmm, I don't want to leave this place! It's so comfy! And the smell of the fireplace... even in a dream. It feels so real. Am I still alive? I didn't die did I?"

"" I responded with a light chuckle.

"Oopp, sorry."

""

"Oh, I have another question!"

""

"What are you, Novos?"

""

"No, I mean, are you a boy or a girl? Your voice is weird. You don't have boobs like momma, but you have wide hips like her..."

"" I looked out the window to eye the lights of a billion suns dancing across the sky. I will never see these stars the same way again as from Earth. Even now they probably aren't in the right spots. But the feeling is the same. The Earth sky as a feeling to it. You can't really understand it until you've been to another world and looked up. I wonder what Erde's galaxy looks like. Celestine never really paid too much attention to the sky in great detail.

"That's no good! You have to be either a man or a woman!" She sat up on the couch, stood up on the cushions and pointed at me. Is this going to be a running theme with her?

""

"What's ?"

Damn it. She's five years old! I don't want to have THAT discussion with her right now. That's her mother's job! Good thing she doesn't know the word in her language for sex, otherwise things would have been really awkward with her mother. I can imagine the conversation now. 'How did you learn about that?' 'Novos told me!' Don't hate me, Momma!

And with perfect timing, Celestine disappeared in front of me. Phew. She woke up. There's that bombshell avoided. I hope she forgets about that little bit at the end of our conversation.

Who am I kidding, she won't. That photographic memory of hers is a doubled-edged sword for me right now...

Wait, did I tell her to pretend I'm a god to the adults? She's five years old, does she know how to lie?