 Daniel, do you see it?" I had been sound asleep, but that had never stopped my younger sister before, and that was okay. Huh? I replied, still half dreaming. It could have been a nightmare, actually, as I remembered running from something tall and… I saw the lights again. She continued. My feet stung briefly from the cold as I tossed the blanket against the wall and plopped them down onto the wooden floor. God, it's freezing. Did you open the window again? Just for a few minutes, she replied quickly. I wanted you to see them, too. I was tired and a bit frustrated as this was the fourth night in a row, but I tried not to show it. It's alright. C'mon. I put my arm around Ella's shoulder as we made a right turn in the second floor hallway and headed towards her bedroom. You know, you might feel a little better if you tried sleeping for once. She nodded. I'll try, but the lights always keep me up. I think they're… She trailed off for a moment, her eyes jumping towards her own bedroom window this time. I think they're getting brighter. I nodded and tucked her into the transformer's blanket that had been mine at her age. The thought struck me that it wasn't fair she wasn't able to have her own blankets instead of having to use my leftovers and that it was my fault. Checking her IV, I reconnected the plastic tubing and pressed the bright green continue button. Sitting down next to her, I spoke a question I didn't want to know the answer to. Are you in any pain? She looked up at me, surprised for some reason. Ella shook her head. No. Good. That's good. I continued, speaking more to myself than her probably. She looked tired and she needed her rest. Now go to sleep or they're red and green, you know. The lights, I mean. She interrupted. I watched her eyes closely as she spoke and maybe it was the glare of her bedside lamp but I thought that her face seemed more full of life than it had been in a long time, maybe even since the diagnosis. Red and green, huh? She nodded, looking over to the window and closing her eyes shut hard as if to try to picture what she had seen or thought she had seen again. They used to scare me. But now I think they remind me of Christmas. I wasn't sure what to think of that. So I forced a smile, kissed her on the forehead and said goodnight. I suppose you're wondering about the lights and perhaps you're curious as well to where our parents are. They died two years ago, two nights before Christmas. The memory of that night's phone call kept replaying over and over in my mind as I lay back down in my own bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was strange. I missed my parents terribly, but I'd never cried once since their passing. I'm not sure why. Some nights, many nights, I would stay up with my sister and watch the corners of her eyes fill with tears as she would almost always think of mom and dad at night. I think it's because they used to take turns telling her stories, scary one specifically, in my attempts at continuing the tradition seemed inept. Though she always seemed to like them anyway. I was more tired than usual tonight as I watched the shadows flicker across the wall behind the saltwater tank that had been my dad's. He had a goldfish that I swear was the size of a coffee cup and for some reason he would only come out at night. I read that that's unusual, but it was true regardless of what the fish people said. I'm not sure how much time passed after I fell asleep when a feeling of terror washed over me. Jumping out of bed, a chill passed through me as I saw the window was wide open again and there was what looked like a blizzard outside our home. Ella, I said, my mind racing. I rushed down the hallway to check her room, finding only an empty bed and the repetitive hum of her machine. Damn it, I muttered, slipping my shoes on and forgetting to grab a winter jacket as I climbed out my bedroom window and headed into the field behind our home. Ella, I shouted again, trying to make out her shape in the darkness. But it was impossible with the pitch black of the night and the winter storm that had seemingly come out of nowhere. I continued anyway. I had to find her. She wasn't in any shape for something like this and as I searched farther I pushed away the morbid nightmare of finding my younger sister, frozen to death, in the long field behind our home. My father had been a farmer and there were still 30 or so acres intact. Ella, I said again, pausing in hopes of hearing something, anything. That's when I saw the light and I froze. It was a terror I had never felt before and my eyes widened in disbelief and fear as the lime greens and rose reds illuminated the long field. The colors darkened and lightened and they seemed to dance as if they had a life of their own. Jay. I suddenly saw my sister in the dead center of them and I began to run towards her but it was short-lived. It seemed that each stride only seemed to push her farther away. It's okay Jay. She continued and that's when I saw them, my mother and father. They were floating on both sides of her and they smiled over at me as if to say, we'll take care of her now. The fear was gone then and tears filled my eyes instead as I understood. I watched as she waved goodbye as the three of them floated peacefully up into the sky and the light ceased, darkness replacing it. I didn't know what to do next. I didn't know what the hell to think of any of this. All I knew for certain is that I was alone now. As I walked into my sister's room, the empty bed confirmed that it hadn't all been just a dream. Her blankets had even been folded neatly as if she knew that tonight she wouldn't be sleeping but going somewhere else entirely. I tried to smile but something didn't exactly seem right to me. The cameras, I thought, quickly running to my laptop and booting it up. My parents had two security cameras installed before they passed, one of them facing the field where this had all happened. Zooming back a few minutes, it was initially hard to see due to the snow but the bright lights finally pierced through and I zoomed in closer. No, I almost fainted. The security footage of the backyard showed my sister waving goodbye with two tall alien creatures standing around her. I watched as the three of them floated up and disappeared into the sky.