Sam sat up in her bed. Sunlight poured in her window as she yawned and stretched, then shut off her alarm clock, realizing that was the buzzing sound from her dream. She went to lay back down for a moment until she realized what day it was: her birthday! Today she was ten years old.

She leaped out of bed and danced around the room before she made her way to the bathroom. She did her business and brushed her teeth with a wide grin. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she woke up. The thoughts of the lovely castle and beautiful beach swirled around her head. She wondered if Isaac had gone to that dream world too.

I’ll ask him at breakfast, she thought.

After she finished in the bathroom, she dressed for school.

Normally, Sam would like to mismatch things for fun and wear what made her happy. Because it was her birthday and she was growing to be mature – she thought – that she should dress for the occasion. She put on a black shirt with a pink bedazzled star and black tights. Over the tights, she wore a pink skirt that flowed like the bottom half of a dress. Around her waist, she wore a red belt with a silver clasp. And to complete the ensemble, she wore white flats that were a little worn from secret after school dance parties with her stuffed animals.

She made her way downstairs, the smell of bacon and eggs put an extra spring in her step. Once she entered the kitchen, she heard her dad's voice behind her. He scooped her up, twirled her around and said, “Happy Birthday, Princess”. Then gave her a big kiss with his bushy, brown mustache. Mr. Wilde wasn’t a burly man, but he appreciated a very fine mustache. Her mother stepped away from the oven. Her green eyes sparkled as she held her daughter and wished her a Happy Birthday. She returned to the oven to make sure the family breakfast didn’t burn.

“I had the most wonderful dream, mom!” Sam exclaimed.

“Oh, yeah? Tell us all about it.”

Her mother served breakfast and they all sat and ate while Sam excitedly told her story.

“There was a really big boat and we flew into the sky and there was the most beautiful castle and we went to the beach!”

In the middle of her telling the story, with very few breaths in between words, Isaac sulked into the kitchen. His black hair was messy and there was a toothpaste stain on the right shoulder of his shirt. He sat down and nibbled at a piece of toast, putting on an air of don’t notice me.

Sam wriggled with excitement, holding the story in as they all sat silently watching Issac eat.

“Ahem. Is there something you want to tell your sister, Isaac?” Mr. Wilde asked.

“Oh, yea...Happy Birthday,” he grumbled; pieces of chewed toast spilling from his mouth. Sam went over to her brother’s seat and looked at him wide-eyed.

“Did you dream of the castle too?!” She asked him. He looked at her like she was crazy.

“What in the world are you talking about?”

She retold the story of the dream, again without any room for breaths.

“You know...now that I think of it I did dream of something.”

She waited for him to tell her what it was. She bounced up and down in impatience.

“What the dream was about,” he said with a sly grin. “Was a bloodthirsty dragon and he ate little girls! JUST. FOR. FUN!”

He motioned claws with fingers and made his mouth look frightening. Sam was not afraid, she was used to her brother’s antics.

“Come on now, Isaac. Stop teasing your sister.” Mrs. Wilde said. She too was used to Isaac’s teasing. “Eat your breakfast and we can get you to school.”

It was a clear autumn day. The trees were bright swatches of yellow and orange and red. The air had a crisp coolness to it; chilly enough to wear a cardigan or light jacket, but no need to bundle up. Sam enjoyed the morning drive to the schools, while the leaves danced around the car on the wind.

Isaac was dropped off at his middle school first, begging to be dropped off a few feet away, embarrassed to be seen with his family. Mrs. Wilde obliged as Sam rolled her eyes. Isaac shot out of the car before anything else could be said and ran to his group of friends.

“Why does he have to be like that?” Sam asked.

“He’s going through a phase, dear” Mrs. Wilde answered. “He’ll grow out of it one day. Even though he doesn’t show it, he loves us both very much; don’t forget that.”

“He’s a funny boy.”

The Wilde’s made their way to Sam’s elementary school and pulled up to the front. Proving that she was more mature than her brother, Sam kissed her mother on the cheek before exiting the vehicle. Mrs. Wilde smiled and told her daughter that she loved her and would pick her up after school.

The school day wasn’t ready to begin yet, so Sam made her way to the playground. She made her way through the crowd of children until she spotted a familiar face.

“Bella!” She exclaimed.

“Yes?” Bella turned at the call of her name. “Who are you?” She asked with a confused look on her face.

“I’m Sam Wilde.” Her smile had drooped and her excitement, gone. “We met last night.”

“Last night? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “On the boat, flying toward the beautiful castle?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bella started slowly backing up. “Honestly, you’re being weird..bye!” And with that Bella ran off to the other side of the jungle gym.

Why doesn’t she remember the dream, she thought. That dream was so vivid. Embarrassed, she sat by herself by a fence until the bell rang for class. She headed toward her classroom and when she made her way to her assigned seat, she noticed that two seats were empty; the Johnson twins were absent.

That’s odd, she thought. They always have perfect attendance.

The rest of the school day passed as normal as any other day. When the bell for recess rang, Sam made her way through all the children hoping to find Bella and apologize for acting weird and to try and make friends with her. After a few moments of searching, Sam had found her by the monkey bars, cheering on a young boy hanging for his life.

“You can do it, Geoffrey!” Bella cheered, her fists raised excitedly in the air. But unfortunately, Geoffrey couldn’t do it, for mere moments after her cheer he fell onto his back onto a rubber mat that was placed underneath for this kind of situation.

“That’s ok, Geoffrey,” Bella said with an optimistic spirit. “You can try again tomorrow! Let’s go down the slides for now.”

Bella and Geoffrey made their way to the jungle gym, climbed the rope ladder, and ran into Sam at the top.

“Bella!”

Bella was still put off by their conversation earlier that morning.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I had the most wonderful dream last night and even though we’ve never met, you were in the dream. It was such a vivid dream, that I felt that we were actually there.”

“That sounds a little weird, but I guess that’s not a reason to be mean to you; it does sound like a pretty dream.”

“It was! Oh, I wish you would’ve seen it! It was almost like the dream knew it was my birthday today.”

Bella stood there for a moment with her mouth open.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Today is your birthday? It’s my birthday too!”

“What?! No way!” Sam threw her arms around in excitement. “How old are you?!”

“I’m ten today!”

“ I don’t believe this! I’m ten too!”

Sam jumped in place. She would’ve jumped completely over the playground if given the chance. The girls squealed and embraced each other as excited girls do. Geoffrey just stood there thinking about how weird girls are.

“Oh!” Bella exclaimed. “I forgot, this is my little brother Geoffrey, say hi, Geoff.”

Geoff waved to Sam timidly.

Bella invited Sam to play with them to which she agreed to without any hesitation.

The girls and Geoffrey played until recess had come to an end. Both girls had a good time and made frowny faces when they had to leave for their separate classes. Sam was glad to make a new friend. She skipped happily all the way back to her seat. She sat through the rest of the school day thinking how wonderful her birthday had already been going.

The school day ended and Mrs. Wilde was there at the front doors waiting for her daughter. Sam hopped in the car and sat smiling.

“How was your day, dear?” Her mother asked as they drove away.

“It was great! I made a new friend, her name is Bella, and we both have our birthdays today!” Sam spoke a mile a minute.

“That sounds like a lovely day!”

Mrs. Wilde believed in encouraging her kids to believe that every day is a precious, lovely thing. “Are you excited about tonight?”

“Yes, of course!” Sam squealed.

The night proceeded as such, the Wilde’s came home and Sam did her homework. Mr. and Mrs. Wilde set decorations up in the kitchen. Isaac disappeared into the caverns of his room.

When her homework was finished, Sam read a book in her room waiting to be called for dinner. She could smell the delicious food and she smiled while reading, wishing time would go a little faster so she could eat.

After what seemed like an eternity to her hungry belly, she was called down and was delighted by the delicious food that she saw. Her mother had made her favorite cheeseburgers; while her dad prepared his “famous” seasoned French fries. There were chocolate milkshakes too. She ate and was happy.

For dessert, there was a beautiful marble cake that read “Happy Birthday Sam!” in blue lettering. Sticking through the buttercream frosting were eight lit candles. The whole family sang to her; surprisingly even Isaac.

“Make a wish,” her parents coaxed.

Sam didn’t even need time to think about it, she already knew what she wanted. I wish I could visit that castle again, she prayed silently. Then she blew out the candles, hoping desperately her wish would come true.

After dessert, she opened her presents. She received different toys and dolls from her parents. She even received a gift from Issac, of Peter Pan, which Sam thought was very endearing. She went over to him and hugged him with a huge smile.

“Thanks, Isaac. I love it.” She said during the embrace. He only grunted in reply. He kept his normal face, but Sam swore she got the glimmer of a smile in his eyes.

After the presents were opened and the I-Love-yous was given, she was excited to go to bed. She raced upstairs to perform her nightly routine. Her mother came into her room to say their prayers and then say goodnight.

“Mom, do you think I’ll dream about that wonderful place again?” Sam asked before her mother left to turn the lights off.

“I hope so, dear. It sounds lovely. But if you don’t, it’ll be okay. Remember, it’s only just a dream. Have a good night, dear.”

Mrs. Wilde turned off the light and closed Sam's door; leaving it open enough to let a sliver of light come through, warding off any monsters that could be living under the bed.

“Just a dream...,” Sam whispered. Her head lowered, her body curled into a ball as she slowly and softly fell asleep.