[A/N I changed things around a little bit, because I thought it flowed better this way.]
It is the year 1679, and a dark figure looms over a sleeping child, sand figures dancing above his head. They portray a memory from a few years back, where he was running around and playing with his sister.
The figure reaches out towards the golden sand and hesitates for a moment.
"H-Hello?" A tentative voice called, and the figure turns to find a young woman in her teens at the doorway. "James? Are you alright…?"
There wasn't much time. Pulling out a crossbow, the figure shoots the child sleeping on the bed. The instant the arrow makes contact, the dream shatters and James shoots up in his bed, screaming in agony and the figure slips out through the open window.
"It hurts! It feels like they're burning! What's happening to me?!" He yells in a panic, tears streaming down his face. In an instant, the whole house is awake and everyone rushes into the small boy's room.
The next morning, word spreads around the small town. Something big had happened at the Lidell house. People gathered around, to witness the miracle.
The young boy who had become lame three years ago was running around, jumping and smiling. The doctors had said there was no hope, and that he would need to use a crutch for the rest of his life, yet here he was having fun like nothing had ever happened.
Tears of joy glimmered in his mother's eyes, and his sister smiled for the first time since his accident as he ran up to her and invited her to play.
It was a happy sight to behold. A miracle had occurred, bringing with it the joy of two young children and the peace of mind of their parents.
Not far away, the same dark figure stood in the cover of the trees. If one of the young ones who had stayed back were to look in just the right direction, they might have noticed a brown-haired girl with a dress made out of a curious material. They might have noticed that that girl was holding a piece of paper, which she dropped onto the ground. If they had run up to the piece of paper and picked it up out of curiosity, they might have realized that there was writing on it. If they were literate, they might have read what the paper said.
But no-one looked, and so no-one saw the piece of paper, nor what it said.
I wish my sister would smile again.