It rained glass from the dark skies again; Each particle danced as the wind scattered them around the town. From the window, a young boy named Gabriel stared at the pile of cold stardust gathering in the streets for hours on end. The fragments of glass also gave shape to the pitch black woodlands and they didn’t seem so scary as they normally did.

The little one reached to an aged book beside him and flipped through the glossy pages containing detailed yet cryptic images now long lost of color. Gabriel’s father always made up stories based on the images, by far his favorite is: The Castle of Water Glass, a castle that only the strong willed can survive in. The story illustrates a King in bares wielding a sword made of red glass. The blade burned through the thickest of hides and toughest steel. This story includes the map to where the castle resides.

Gabriel dreamed of setting foot in such a location, he could only imagine his hands wielding such a blade and hunting the vile beasts of the land. Perhaps in the distant future he could be as great as the King of this story or something greater.

Gabriel continued to turn the pages in a careful pace till he reached the story of: The tallest angel to roam the Earth and Skies. This one was far the strangest but just as captivating. The tallest man had black feathered wings over his head and he too, like the king, was in bares. There were many depictions of this man surrounded by two smaller beings, one human and the other something else. The human, to which his mother called Red Cherub was an enigma in the book. Every character had a story featuring Red Cherub and his story is still unknown.

Sighing, the child gazed out the window, eyes widening slowly as the realization now hit him. From the distance, buried within the black woodlands of Gabriel's back yard, glowing embers protruded the shadows. The child cocked his head wondering if the Sun was rising. Lifting the window sill, the child looked up at the black skies as soot particles caught in between the pale lashes and gathered in a small lukewarm heap in his little hands. He hadn't the slightest clue as to what could it be but the longer he thought about it the more he wanted to know.

A strange sound played far off in the sea of dead trees it was almost missable but the moment his ears picked up on it he was drawn to it.

Curiosity overwhelmed Gabriel’s mind, so he gathered his leather satchel and stored his father’s bible, a piece of bread his mother baked and a knife with the other contents. He laced his heavy leather boots and wrapped his frame in his warm purple coat before sneaking out the window and climbing down carefully with practiced ease.

There was a slight hesitation, realizing he was to venture the Dead Woodlands. He is aware of what becomes of children that run off into the woods alone at night; they never return and no one hears from them ever again.

Fear he did not hold and courage was all he had; one step, two steps, each quickening in pace carefully as to not walk into a tree or step on a root, the moon hid behind the dark clouds offering little to no light to his path, all little Gabriel could do was follow the soft almost rhythmic noise. The music sounded like stars falling; diamonds cracking releasing an array of borealis lifting Gabriel’s tiny frame from the frozen ground.

He kicked something heavy that hid under a pile of black snow. Digging through the snow with his hands he uncovered the dead body of a young girl slightly older than him. She clutched a doll in her frozen arms, it had skin texture similar to his own, and if he didn't know better the doll was warm to the touch.

Gabriel heard a laugh and wailing from behind. Without thinking, he ran away from the sounds.

Quickly as his feet hit no solid form, he anchored himself from falling down the gulch with a tight hand grip to the ledge.

Almost perished he did, but the curiosity never faltered.

The brunet stood in awe at what he saw below... thousands of blinking lights like the twinkling of cosmos in a clear summer night sky. A singing voice rang in Gabriel's ears; the song seemingly came from an ice cavern and the small boy leaned on the edge unconsciously. Leaning too far he dropped into the inverted sky and continued to fall endlessly. The sound grew distant as his body now ascended into the void as a new noise echoed in the muted ambiance.