Marian held her five- year- old child, David, in her arms hoping that her love would keep him safe. She had no man by her side to help watch over her child because he had passed away. Two years ago, her husband Michael had died of pancreatic cancer and Marian still missed him beyond what anyone could imagine. The thought of Michael made her miserable so she held David even closer to her chest as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
   David woke up in his bed to find that his mother was not with him. This seemed very strange to him because his mother always stayed by his side and never left him alone without telling him where she was. To his surprise, his room seemed emptier than usual and the cords that were normally attached to his arm were no longer in the room. But David didn't worry because he saw his mother’s pink sweater on the chair and knew she must be near by. David jumped out of bed and decided to go on a quest to find his mother. When he walked out of the dully colored room into the hall he saw the familiar sight of men and women rushing through the hall.
   David ran to the tall counter; he got on his tippy toes and tried his best to peer over the top. He then asked the woman at the counter where his mother was. No answer. David asked the kind looking woman once more and still no response. “I hate being short,” David thought to himself, “I can never get people’s attention!” David walked on, asking random people he recognized where his mother was, but in their rush to get places they seemed to have forgotten about him. Eventually, David got to the end of the long hall and saw the woman named Veronica  that came to check on him everyday. She had her long black hair tied up, as usual, and was wearing a shirt and pants that had rocket ships on them. That was why David liked her so much. She always had a smile on her face when she came to visit David but, right now, that was not the case. Veronica was silently crying as she restocked a cart of supplies. “What is wrong?” David asked the distraught woman. No answer. “Mom always said that if a person wasn't saying something they probably don't want to talk at that moment,” remembered David “I guess I will talk to her later then.”
   David wandered the halls for what felt like hours. He had some fun riding the elevator and he found the place where babies come from. There was this room with a bunch of boys and girls in it and they had a tag on their foot saying which parents claimed them. “When I find my mom, I am going to tell her all about where babies come from,” David told himself. As time flew by David began to get scared. He had wandered so far that he was lost. The signs did him no good because his mom had only taught him half the alphabet. David had no idea what to do. How on earth was he supposed to find his, probably worried sick, mother? Then David remembered that if he got lost he was supposed to stay put so he would be easier to find. He found a chair, plopped down onto it and waited… and waited… and waited. No mom. “My mom forgot all about me!” David thought, “I miss her so much and she hasn't even noticed I am gone!” David felt a cold wet tear run down his face but did nothing to stop it. He sat in his seat and started to cry even harder till all he could see was a wet blur.
   David felt as if the world had come to an end. And just when he thought all hope was lost a hand fell on his shoulder. David looked up to see a tall man with brilliantly blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. His mom has always told him not to talk to strangers but, for an unknown reason, David was certain he knew this person. “What is wrong David?” the kind man asked.
   “I can't find my mom and I have looked everywhere!” he cried.
   “I know where she is,” the man replied, “do you want me to show you?”
   David was so excited that he could finally see his mom that he agreed without a question. The man picked David up and carried him to the elevator. David felt very safe with this man and on their ride in the elevator, which took longer than it should have because David pressed all the buttons, David fell asleep in this man’s arms. “I found her buddy,” the man said as he woke the boy, “I found Marian.”
  David looked up and saw wooden benches lined up in rows with an aisle down the middle of them in a large room. At the front there was a large cross with a man David knew to be Jesus on it. There was a table in front of the cross with a white cloth on it. David was in the hospital’s chapel. He heard a woman crying and turned his head to see his mother. “I am here Mom! Don't cry, I found you!” David screamed but there was no answer. “Mom?” David walked closer so he could hear what she was saying.
   “You took Michael and I have learned to live with that. But did you have to take him too? I loved him more than anything and you had to take him too! He was so young!” Marian cried, “Michael, if you can hear me, please take care of our baby boy, wherever he might be.” Then David watched as his mother was dissolved into a pool of tears. He reached out to touch her shoulder to assure her that he was ok but his hand went straight through her body. David look up at the man and asked, “What is going on?”
   “Let's go on a walk, and I will explain. But first say goodbye to your mother, you won't be seeing her for a long time.” David blew his mother a kiss and walked outside with the man. The man had explained to David that they were going to live in some new place called Paradise and that someday his mom was going to join them there. After the man’s explanation David only had one question.
“What is your name?” He asked the man as he stared into his brilliant blue eyes.
  “Michael.”