The girl, bundled up, stepped through the back door into the cool night air. Walking a ways into her backyard, she stopped, opened her clutched hands, and stared at them. Actually, she was staring at what lay in her hands: several gems--not real gems of course, because, as every girl knows, real gems only come from Papa. No, these where quite fake; but they were sparkly.

She looked at the gems. She looked at the stars. She looked back at the gems.

She had to bury them. She had to bury her dreams. If the dreams were true, only here in the field of hope, only after she buried them, would they grow.

And if they were the true dreams--the ones Papa had put inside her heart before time began--then He would give them back to her. And they would be real gems, fit for a princess to wear. And they would sparkle a hundred times more than they did right now.

She looked down once again at her little fake gems--her ruby, the two emeralds, her light sapphire, and the diamond! Oh, she would miss looking at that diamond, even if it was only glass.

But think of how much bigger and prettier it will be if Papa gives it back, said a little voice.

She sighed, knowing this was true.

One more look at her gems. One more look at the sky.

She closed her eyes, one little tear sneaking out as she did. She kissed her gems. And then, she threw them up, sky-high, and let them all fall and skip around her and come to rest in that fertile soil of her Papa's garden.

For she knew that under Papa's gentle care, the right gems would grow. And they would be beautiful. And someday they would be hers again. But for now she would have to wait. Wait and hope...