Disclaimer: Rise of the Guardians belongs to DreamWorks.


"Let's have a little fun."

Growing up, that was my brother's favorite catch phrase. Where it came from, I have no idea, but he would always say it just so. His eyes would glimmer and his lips would quirk in that infuriating smirk of his. It was almost as if he knew something that the rest of us didn't, as if it was some sort of private joke he was reliving in his head. I can't even remember a time when he didn't say it. Sometimes, it could be so annoying.

But now, I'll never hear it again. And I miss it. Desperately.

He used to talk about Spirits, the ones from children's fairy tales. Guardians, he would call them. And the stories he told? He could paint the images, weaving words about an epic battle, powerful creatures and an evil villain. He'd describe the Spirits as if he were actually there, as if he saw it, and as if he weren't an adult, taking his first steps into the real world as a freshman in collage. Sometimes, it was almost like it wasn't just a story, like he really believed. But that was Jamie for you. Always the dreamer.

I remember there was a time when I used to believe too. When I would creep into his room late at night and listen to him talk in hushed whispers as we curled under warm blankets. It was a magical time in my childhood. When my older brother knew everything, when his words were alive, and I could almost, almost, remember green summer grass in the snow, blurry white blobs colored with rainbows, and almost feel soft, grey fur. Somehow, despite growing older, entering high school and moving on from my childhood, I always kept that wonder, that secret wish that it was all true, buried somewhere deep inside.

But when my brother died, something in me broke. And I stopped believing.

Because it wasn't real.

And everyone has to grow up.


AN: Just a thought about Sophie and what might have happened as time went by. Review please.

~Delgodess