BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The piercing sound of an alarm clock penetrated through the silence of the early morning. Peter Kingston, a tall, brown-haired, and bearded man in his mid-30s, lay already awake in his bed. He had been awake for the past fifteen minutes or so, and not wanting to dawdle his precious time away, had spent the period mentally planning through his day ahead. Shifting onto his side, Peter reached out a hand to shut off his alarm. 6:00 AM, the clock read. 

Peter was a man of routine, and thus, every morning began in a similar fashion. 6:00 AM - wake up. 6:15 - workout. 7:00 - shower. 7:30 - eat breakfast and read the news. Leave the house at 8:00 and arrive at the office by 8:30. Today was no different than any other morning. He completed each task with the kind of promptness and internal drive that was characteristic of any high level corporate executive like him. By 8:40 on this day, he was sitting at his office desk with his laptop propped open, a cup of office-brewed coffee sitting nearby, ready to start the day’s proceedings. 

Peter was not just any corporate executive, he was the CEO of the largest tech company in the world. Kaleidoproject — the pioneer and leader in revolutionary holographic technologies. A self-made man, Peter had built the entire company from the ground up. He was no stranger to hard work. Growing up on a farm in the middle of Texas with little money, Peter was taught the value of diligence and perseverance at a young age. His upbringing and economic situation meant that he was not able to enjoy the luxuries of life very early on. In fact, he had never even set eyes on a computer until he had entered college. However, once he did, every waking moment was spent dedicated to learning more about that machine and how to harness its potential to create an extraordinary technology that was worthy of society. Peter first heard about holograms when the technology was still in its infancy. Deciding that they would be the future, he immediately jumped on the bandwagon, utilizing his knowledge of physics and computer science to create the world’s first successful hologram. It was non stop from then on. At 22, he moved to California, founding his company at the age of 23 and becoming the world’s youngest billionaire at the age of 25. Now, he was the CEO of a multibillion dollar empire, known by almost everyone in the world. 

As Peter sat at his desk, he began to get a head start by answering some of the day's emails. His office was empty except for a desk in the center of the room, a bookshelf in the corner, and a TV on the wall diagonal from him. The TV was flipped to CNBC and was reporting on some of the stock market trends from the day before. Yesterday, Kaleidoproject’s share prices reached a record high, sustaining an 80 day streak that cemented the company as one of the most profitable corporations in the world. Peter sat there with a smile, letting the feeling of pride seep into him.

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. 

“Come in, ” said Peter, shifting his gaze down towards his laptop. 

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a young woman in her late 20s standing behind it. Her hair was pulled back and she was dressed in a blue blouse and an olive colored straight skirt. 

"Oh, hi Sarah, " Peter said, looking up to see his secretary standing in front of him before averting his eyes back to his computer. "What can I do for you?" 

“You have a phone call from Texas.”

“Ok, send it to my line, ” replied Peter without looking up from his computer. He was too preoccupied with his work to notice the worried look on Sarah's face. 

“It’s Raymond. Something has happened to him. He’s in the hospital right now.” 

The name hit him sharply in the chest. Raymond? He glanced up, peering into his secretary’s face. It had been many years since he had last heard that name. 18 to be exact. Raymond was his younger brother by 5 years. Growing up, they had been inseparable. Raymond, by nature of being the younger child, grew up idolizing Peter. Peter’s favorite color was Raymond’s favorite color. Peter’s interests were Raymond’s interests. Peter’s dreams were Raymond’s dreams. When it came time for Peter to head off to college, their parting was emotional. It was the first time since Raymond was born that they had ever been separated. Before Peter left, he told his brother that he would keep in touch, promising that he would write home every single week. Yet, in all of the excitement and novelty of college, he quickly forgot the promise that he made to his brother. In college, without Raymond by his side, there was nothing to check Peter’s growing ambition. He soon became immersed in his studies, neglecting anyone and anything that distracted him from his learning. Days became months, months became years, until eventually, Raymond slowly slipped from Peter’s mind, that is, until a few seconds ago, when the name was uttered from Sarah’s lips. 

“Peter?” The sound of Sarah’s voice awoke him from his trance. 

“Yes, thank you Sarah. I can handle it from here”. Sarah’s gaze lingered on Peter, before she hesitantly left the room. 

Peter shakily reached out for the phone. 

“Hello, is this Peter?” said the voice on the other side of the line. 

“Yes, that’s me, ” he said with calm composure. 

“We are calling to inform you that your brother and his wife were injured in a car crash late last night. Despite our best efforts to save them, they sadly passed away earlier this morning.”

Peter was dumbstruck. For the first time in his life, he did not know what to say. 

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” the voice continued. “In addition, your brother has put your name down as the legal guardian for Petra, meaning that you would gain full custody of her unless your guardianship is disputed.” 

At the sound of this news, Peter somehow found his voice again. “I’m sorry, Petra? Who’s Petra?” 

“Petra. Raymond’s daughter. Did he never tell you that he had one?” 

“We weren’t very close, ” Peter mumbled under his breath. “...I’m sorry but I think you have the wrong person. My brother can’t have possibly listed me as a guardian. Besides, I have too much on my plate to have the time to care for a baby.”

“She’s 6 years old. Besides, if you don’t agree to become her legal guardian, then she could very well end up in an orphanage.”

“Well, what about my parents or...is there anyone on my sister-in-law’s side of the family?”

“Your parents passed away 6 years ago, but surely you knew that. In regards to your sister-in-law, her parents have also passed away and she has no siblings.”

The bit about his parents put him into another trance. This was too much news for him to handle in one day. How many other of his loved ones were now gone?

“Hello...are you still there?” asked the voice on the line. 

Peter was jerked away from his trance again. “Uh…yes...I’m so sorry, but I can’t become the guardian of Petra. It won’t work out. There’s just too much that requires my attention, and I don’t have anyone close who will be able to help me out.”

“Well, let me just give you a number to call in case you change your mind. She’s currently staying with Social Services and may be transferred to an orphanage soon if we cannot find a guardian for her.” 

Peter wrote the number down on a scrap piece of paper, knowing that he would likely never look at it again, “Ok, thank you for letting me know. Goodbye, ” and he hung up the phone, looking visibly shaken. Afterwards, he glanced at the piece of paper, before crumpling it up and throwing it in the trash. 

From then on, Peter’s day proceeded on as usual. By the time he returned home from the office that day, the morning’s exchange had completely slipped from his mind, and he carried out his typical nightly routines. He ate dinner at 7, finished up some last minute work, and read a book before retiring to bed at midnight. 

On any typical night, Peter would have fallen instantly into a deep sleep with little trouble, but tonight, his mind seemed to be particularly busy. While he was sleeping, he found himself wandering in and out of the same dream over and over again. In his visions, he saw a young girl sitting under a tree in a meadow. The girl had golden blonde hair that was pushed back with a purple headband. Her rosy red cheeks glowed from afar, and she was wearing a flowy white dress. As Peter examined her, he noticed that there seemed to be some sort of light emanating from her. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the light came from the hundreds of red, orange, and yellow flowers that surrounded her. Looking up, he noticed a ring of butterflies encircling around her head. The girl was picking flowers from the meadow, and did not seem to notice him. Suddenly, in the distance, Peter saw a dark figure looming toward him that seemed to be shining with blue energy. 

Peter was taken aback. “Raymond? Is that you?” he said aloud. 

The figure looked at the girl and then back at Peter. The eyes that stared back at him did not seem to look human. They were pixelated, almost as if they had been generated by a computer. This was not Raymond, but rather, a holographic projection of him. 

“Peter, she needs you,” pleaded the projection. “She needs to have someone in her life. Please...don’t abandon her like you’ve abandoned me.”

Peter heard a faint beeping in the distance. 

“This is life giving you a second chance. Don’t let the opportunity slip away, ” said the projection. The holograph had a sad look on its face.

Peter felt a tear slide down his face. He began to break down. All the while, the beeping sound grew ever louder in his ears. “I’m...I’m sorry for everything...” Beep! Beep! Beep! “...I’ve done,” he managed to sob out. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! He was being drowned out by the beeping sounds, and everything around him began to fade. “I’m sorry, ” he whispered one last time before the world around him faded to black. 

All of a sudden he was back in his bed. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The piercing sound of the alarm clock filled his ears once again. He turned onto his side, and looked at the clock — 7:00 AM. It was the first time that he had woken up late in 10 years. The events from Peter’s dreams were still fresh in his mind. Reflecting back on them, he realized that he could not continue to live life like this any longer. What did it mean to be the head of the most profitable corporation in the world if he did not have anyone he could share his joy with? He had made up his mind right then and there. From today on, life would be different, starting with — her. 

Peter skipped his morning workout and shower, got dressed, and went immediately downstairs to have breakfast. After he was done, he drove to work. The building was still empty when he arrived. As soon as he was in the safe space of his office, he shut the door behind him, and walked over to the trash bin. The scrunched up piece of paper with the phone number was still in there from the day before. Reaching into the bin, he took it out and unraveled on his desk. He then began to punch in the numbers on his office phone keypad.

The dial tone hummed for a few seconds before a voice on the other side spoke. “Hello this is Social Services, how may I help you today?”

“Hello, I’m calling to ask about the guardianship of a young girl who was my brother’s daughter,” said Peter. 

“Ok, what’s her name?”

“Her name is....Petra.”