Then one day, when she was at the very end of her rope, something happened. She drifted in and out of consciousness almost every minute, and at first all she saw was a black dot in the sky. the next time she regained consciousness it was larger, and vaguely bird like. She passed out again, and the next time she awoke it was to soft bird cooing and feathers on her cheek. She opened her eyes, no wider than tiny slits, and took in the smiling face of the seagull. Even in her depleted state there was no mistaking him, with his sharp beak and shinning little eyes. The little bird nuzzled her face in the gentlest way it could. She struggled to stay awake, she was so happy, though she couldn't show it, she didn't even have enough energy left in her to pull up a smile. She wanted his little face to be the last thing she saw. That's when she noticed it. Just as the mast beneath her shifted and her half water logged body slowly rolled off into the ocean. The seagull had something clasped firmly in his beak. A twig. A twig with a green leaf on it.

But it was too late for Julie's body. She had no energy left, and half conscious, she watched herself sink slowly deeper and deeper into the blue water. Far above her she could see the remnants of the mast floating, and the surface glinting bright sunlight all around. It was so very far away, and slowly, beautifully, the whole scene faded into black.

But something happened then that does not happen to most spirits after their body dies. Julie always thought it was because she saw the seagull with the twig right before she sank, but its hard to say if thats the real reason. All that we can know for sure is that in that place of lightness, freedom, and peace, a very human emotion came over her spirit. Hope crashed into it so strongly that it was sent flying back into the ocean, and back into Julie's body, because somewhere, deep inside, she was not done yet.

How long was Julie's body floating lifelessly at the bottom of the ocean? She never knew. The first thing she remembered after dying was waking up with a jerking start, opening her eyes wide, and feeling her senses rushing at her as fast as the wind. Suddenly the weight of the water on her ears was deafening, the salt in her eyes stung, the water in her mouth was extraordinarily wet, and overpowering it all was an amazing, screaming desire for air. It was the longest journey she ever traveled, from the bottom of that ocean to it's surface. Her feet connected with the sand below her and pushed her up towards the lighter water. Up, one impossible stroke, and then another. Her legs kicked behind her and her arms reached up time and time again, pulling herself towards the air. Towards life. The water got warmer, the light brighter, and she thought her lungs might just burst. She was almost there. Just one more stroke. One more. Go.

In one last screaming, gut-wrenching pull she broke the surface, and gasped in the most amazing quantity of air. At first she couldn't see, couldn't do anything but breathe and tread the water. Finally she blinked the remaining water from her eyes and pushed her hair back, feeling that anything she saw would amaze her, knowing that she had just been reborn.

What she saw actually was amazing, for she had not noticed the floor of the ocean sloping up as she swam, and before her she saw land. A long beach stretched out before her eyes, looking wild, tropical, and untouched.

She took two strokes forward towards it and felt her feet touch sand. Slowly, not thinking, just knowing, she walked up to the beach. The white sand gently encased her feet, and the warm, soft waves pushed her trembling legs forward.

She stood on the edge of the ocean, knowing something impossible. This was where she was meant to be. All those long years of searching, of hard times, of traveling, had all been to lead her to this. She looked at the wild, strange trees that rose beyond the beach before her, and it knew it was her home. It was hers. This was where she was meant to be. Finally.

Child of the stars, torn by the wind, on the edge of the ocean, finally, finally home.

This time she didn't cry. She smiled, and a screech met her ears. She turned to see her best friend in the world, the seagull, come crashing into her. He jumped all over her shoulders and her head and sailed around her in circles, squawking and peeping his joy. She caught him up in her arms, and, laughing, pulled him into the tightest spinning hug imaginable.

The joy on that beach, Julie's beach, was immeasurable in human amounts of happiness. When the excitement finally settled down, Julie noticed something in the woods she hadn't before. There was a light shinning out from the trees. It was white and clear, comparable only to the stars. Calling her on.

So Julie, a smile on her face and the seagull on her shoulder, stepped out of the water and onto the land. The dry white sand coated her wet heals like soft glass. She walked up to the edge of the forest and placed a hand on one of the trees. Greeting it. Shaking hands. With nothing but the light shinning in her eyes and pure joy radiating from her heart, she plunged on in.

Enlightened, and ready to begin.