A/N: Oh look, Shadow’s alive.... actually, I’ve just returned from Argentina. Aren’t you so proud of me? Summer exchange program...

This is written for one of the people who inspired me to go to a foreign country. I was listening to the song Brothers Under the Sun by Bryan Adams and inspiration struck me... I just had to write this. I was so perfect.

Feedback greatly appreciated.

My Brother Under the Sun

by Shadow

I had a dream... of the wide open prairie...

I think I have had the same dream every night for nearly three months now. It’s my sanctuary... my place to retreat when I feel afraid or discouraged. It’s a place I wish I could, and someday would like to, call home.

I had a dream... of the pale morning sky...

It’s early in the morning, but I don’t mind. In my dream, I’m standing at the top of the mountain, watching the morning’s light dance off the snow, the entire valley stretched before me, just waiting to greet me. It is the one place in the world where I can truly feel like I’m flying... I can spread my arms, tip my weight a little to my right foot, and before I know it, I’m gliding across the snow... like I’m flying.

I had a dream... that we flew on golden wings...

And always in my dream, you’re there with me. You’re always there to guide me, to point out what I’m doing wrong, then lift my spirits. In the pale morning’s light, I am flying with you under the wings that you gave me.

And we were the same...

In these moments, there is no difference between us. Age is crushed under friendship so that twelve years melts away to nothing. You don’t care, and neither do I. In my heart lies such a deep respect for you that it is often mistaken for a crush, but I know it’s not... and you know it’s not. That’s why I don’t care when they try to say it is. We both know the truth, and what really matters beyond that?

Just the same... you and I...

But it is for this reason--this deep respect that floods me every time I hear your stories--that these mornings mean so much. In those small moments, suddenly, we are the same. We fly on the same wings with the same desire in our hearts... to feel the freedom of the wind and see nothing but the horizon before us. For just those moments, we are the same.

Follow your heart... little child of the west wind...

For New Year’s, you sent me an e-mail... maybe it was something cliché that took you no time to write at all, or maybe you truly meant it... but regardless, I will always remember the message. “I hope that all your wishes come true this year. But, don’t wait for them to come true, make them happen, ok?” Did you know that after reading that, for the first time, I actually sat down and thought about what I really wanted? For the first time in my life, I thought about what dreams I really did have... and I did what you told me. I followed them, and I made them come true. When you wrote that, did you have any idea that six months later, I would be living in a foreign country on a summer exchange program? Did you have any idea how far your message would take me? You told me to follow my heart, and I listened.

Follow the voice... that’s calling you home...

Was I afraid to be in a foreign country? Yes... but you were always there to make me feel better. Maybe it was only through encouraging e-mails and the rare telephone call... but it always brought a smile to my face. I felt like no matter where I was, I was home. Your constant message of saying that yes, it was okay for me to miss my home and my family... and how you had done the same years ago, and how you had taken a place completely foreign and turned it into home... it gave me strength. And again, I listened. By the time I left, I had made such close friends that I called them family, and I truly did feel that I was at home...

Follow your dreams... but always remember me...

...and you wanted to know all about it. I would’ve thought that by now, you’d want to staple my mouth shut, but no... You don’t seem to be in any hurry to forget me, or for me to forget you.

I am your brother... under the sun...

I told my dad how much encouragement you’d given me. He laughed and responded, “Like the big brother you never had, huh?” And that’s what you are. You’re a brother to me. For every time we tease each other, for every time I’ve called you “Showoff” and you get that smile on your face like you’ve done something to be proud of, and every time you’ve told me not to give up... There are no better words for it: My brother.

My brother under the sun...

I cannot explain why, but for some reason, I want you to be proud of me. I know when I see you again, everyone around me will laugh and write me off as another silly teenager with a crush... but I know better. Something like that would make me feel lost and scared... whereas right now, I feel at peace. I just want to learn from you. I look up to you the way I’ve seen so many friends look up to their big brothers... always seeking approval, always filled with awe, always happy just to be granted a bit of time with them...

‘Cause you are my brother... my brother under the sun...

Thank you.