It made me smile when I reminisced. That feeling makes me want to travel back in time to enjoy inspiring experiences. Behind those playful sounds and happy faces outside the window of my room are stories of journey, comedy, and rebirth. It’s a thing that opened my heart to life possibilities and taught me that life has a way of changing things incredibly. You can hear children so happy and excited. Waves of laughter are the sounds of a comfortable and meaningful life. The usual sound you can hear from the old house near the highway. The house is made of light materials in the middle of a property with different fruit-bearing trees, vegetables, and flowering plants. Connected to it is another property they called “farm” where their grandfather’s crop can be seen. Name it and you will find it. That’s how these children describe it. The neighbor can see children’s heads outside the window behind the walls. It’s like a seven-step stair. All eyes are on the cartoon series on the television. Whenever the television is turned on they are there. Their neighbor was used to it and that may be the reason why curtains were left rolled to uncover the window. But good people indeed have bad days too. Sometimes children are just looking at that window waiting to open so they can see a bit of their favorite cartoon series. I can see these children play out in the rain, make mud angels and a mud pool then float a paper boat in it and watch them get moved by the current they created. They sing in the rain, slip, and slide. I watched them play hide and seek while some ran in the bushes, climbing their favorite papaya, chesa, and ipil-ipil trees. Saw them eat bananas, and guava and drink fresh coconut juice directly from their trees. Their favorite hideout is the mango tree on their farm. I saw them wrap each fruit in plastic with a name on it. They used to go and play in the big house on top of the hill which people called a “haunted house”. Visit the small nipa house of an old woman who was once called a “blood-sucking monster” only to see them running faster down the hill. The girls curl their hair using cassava leaves. Many times I’ve seen them on the street pushing a cart with containers filled with water from the house across the street. They push it together and march to the beat of their own drum. I can see how they make fire out of the woods when they cook their food and how it is equally divided for everyone. They knew their role. In the morning, I can hear their father waking up the kids. He reminds them to get up before sunrise and just sleep in the afternoon if they want. That reminder unintentionally became part of me. It touches my heart to see them at night lying on the ground covered with sacks watching the stars. I was having fun myself when I heard their wishes on the falling stars. Call me the alien of their life behind those windows of my room sharing the fun of their innocent minds. I appreciate the fact that these children never feel empty. They learn to embrace what they have today and have the presence of mind and dreams in their hearts. They know that at the right time, life will be good for them. Like those stars, they will shine and radiate light when it’s dark. How many times they saw shooting stars is the number of wishes and positive thoughts they sent to the universe. They are a good example of learning to love what you have. Don’t discount small things be thankful for what is left and count your blessings. One day I saw them moving out of the place. I heard that their grandfather was the caretaker of both properties for many years but the landowners will soon move and take the place. Since then, that side of my window has become the loneliest place I’ve ever been. No more touches of laughter, no more children playing out there in the pouring rain, and no more wishes at night. All I see is that closed window of our neighbor covered with curtains and the bushes growing. Today, I am sitting on a couch on the balcony thinking where are those kids now. It’s been years and I am enjoying my night in this exact place watching the sky at night. I am wishing them well and I am curious if the falling stars made their wishes come true. I hope those pure hearts successfully achieved what they wanted to do or had to do. They taught me to live my life as if everything were a miracle. They left me the memory of a grateful heart.   -riznac