Michaela Rose opens her eyes one sunny day and sees the face of a very friendly young man. He is in his early twenties, and he calls himself Joshua C. He claims to be one of the volunteers at the hospital, who goes around to young children and visits them.
"What's that?" Michaela Rose asks him, pointing to something behind his back.
"It's a painting," Joshua replies, pulling out the large canvas from behind him. It is a beautiful painting of the ocean from a shoreline with white sand. There are palm trees near the edge of the painting, and there are a few birds flying through the air.
"Describe it to me," Michaela Rose whispered, yawning and leaning against Joshua. She closed her eyes again and listened to Joshua describe the painting. As she listened to his words, she soon found that she was inside the painting.
"Well it's not far down to paradise," Joshua said, taking her hand. Michaela Rose found herself flying through the air, heading for the shoreline that was featured in the painting. "At least not for me, and if the wind is right you can sail away and find the tranquility," he added, gesturing to the whole scene in front of them.
"Oh the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see. Baby believe me..." Joshua softly said, looking at Michaela Rose. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.
"It's not far to Never - Never - Land," Joshua said, taking the flying pair into a swirl in the sky. "No reason to pretend!" he cried out, laughing. Michaela Rose laughed too, but then started coughing from all the excitement. Joshua slowed down, looking at Michaela Rose in concern.
"And if the wind is right you can find the joy of innocence again," he whispered, stroking her pale cheek gently. She immediately stopped coughing and brightened at his touch.
"Oh, the canvas can do miracles," she said, looking at him hopefully. Joshua grinned and nodded.
"Just you wait and see...baby believe me," Joshua said, glad that Michaela Rose felt better.
"Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be," Joshua said, letting the wind whip his medium length dark brown hair. "Just a dream and a wind to carry me...soon I'll be free!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs.
"Fantasy, it gets the best of me when I'm sailing," he continued, looking down at Michaela Rose. She nodded in agreement and smiled a huge smile. She hadn't felt this well and carefree in a long, long time.
"All the world in a reverie, every word is a symphony. Won't you believe me?" Joshua repeated, talking more to himself than to Michaela Rose. She shook at his hand and he glanced down at her.
"Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be, just a dream and a wind to carry me. Soon...I'll be free," she said seriously. He smiled sadly, understanding what she meant. He turned her around, and both of them started flying back to the place outside the painting. But this time it was different. Instead of seeing her hospital room approach her, she saw a white light.
"It's not back to sanity, at least it's not for me." Joshua said, sighing.
"And if the wind is right you can sail away, and find serenity," Michaela Rose quietly added, her energy fading. As she got closer to the white light, Joshua's voice became more and more distant.
"The canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see...baby...believe...me," she heard Joshua say before he disappeared entirely.
*Later on that evening*
The parents of Michaela Rose came to visit their daughter, only to find out she had died a couple of hours prior. Althoughthey were devestated, both of them noticed a painting hanging above Michaela Rose's bed that wasn't there the day before.It was the painting she had found herself in earlier that day. No one knew where it came from, and the only indication of the artist were the initials "J.C.".
When Michaela Rose's parents asked if anyone knew what her final words were, a doctor who had been attending to her right before she passed said that she quietly mumbled "I do" in her sleep before painlessly slipping away.