Wind whipping my blonde hair in various directions, I gazed out at the ocean, the crisp, gentle breeze hitting my skin.

I extended my arms out either side of my body, and closed my eyes to take in the atmosphere.

It was silent, except for the waves crashing against the boat I was currently standing in, and the seagulls squawking overhead.

I inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma of the salty water below me, and I re-opened my eyes.

A single dove hovered gracefully above me, and flew towards me slowly.

It landed on the boat, and stood perfectly still, its glance fixated on me.

"Hello," I whispered, stroking the feathers under its neck. "You're beautiful."

It moved its head in acknowledgement to my words, and I peered into the distance.

"I'm headed over there," I told the dove, pointing at the scenery that was scattered on the horizon.

The dove looked where my finger was pointing, and chirped a little in response.

I looked back at the bird, and noted its beautiful white feathers and deep brown eyes.

Those eyes were vaguely familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd seen them before.

The boat continued to sail across the ocean, and I stood watching, as the scenery from afar came nearer and nearer.

With quite a way to go, I looked back and saw the dove gone.

It had most likely gone to visit another boat, to spend time with another traveller.

I averted my eyes back to the island in the distance, and watched it become bigger and more visible with every meter the boat travelled.

I felt another sharp breeze hit my arms, and goosebumps formed.

I was wearing no jumper, nor cardigan, just a simple short-sleeved blouse, with a shawl, black wedge sandals and blue, skinny, three-quarter-length jeans.

I exhaled loudly, anticipating the arrival to the island.

I had been learning to be a free spirit, and I had been allowing myself to lead a life of no regrets, no matter the circumstance.

So now, I was travelling to the smallest island I could find.

My guess was that I was around an hour away from arriving, despite the size of the island growing with every inch the boat moved.

The island was very far away from where I came from; Gary, Indiana.

The reason I was becoming a free spirit was so that I could find a way to take my mind away from every day life.

What was my every day life?

Coping with the loss of my idol, Michael Jackson.

It seemed like an odd thing to be trying to escape from, to any person who disliked him, but to me, he was everything.

And from his untimely death in 2009, I had been in a state of shock and depression.

People had said my obsession for the singer was unhealthy, unnatural.

But to me, it felt like any relationship I'd ever had with anyone - committed and adoring.

I had also lost my parents, but they never cared much for me anyway.

I was upset about their passing, but it didn't hurt as bad as I ever thought it would.

I rested my hands on the hand bars on the side of the boat, and closed my eyes again.

I wanted to take in as much as I could, from just my senses of touch, smell, and hearing.

Sight didn't necessarily matter to me, as long as I could feel something.

I had always believed that, and it helped me to live life freely.

Sight could distort the way a person thinks, I found.

You could see a beautiful girl, or an attractive man, and think they were amazing.

But until you know a personality, you know nothing.

That's why I never trusted sight; it just seemed like an illusion to change real life.

Since I was alone on the boat, excluding the captain, I decided to say a few words to myself, dedicating them to Michael.

"Michael," I whispered, hoping desperately that he could hear my words. "You mean the world to me, you really do. Since you went, I've not been the same."

My vision became blurred, from the number of tears in my eyes, and I blinked them back.

"There is no limitation to the things I would possibly do to bring you back," I continued.

The sky was a perfect blue, and not a single cloud was to be seen.

The sun was out, but not scorching, which I liked.

"And, honestly, I would do anything, just for a moment, a single moment, in your presence."

I close my eyes, imagining the scene.

A perfect beach of golden sand, with the sea's waves crashing against the shore.

The sun shining, the sky blue, and everything perfect.

I would sit on the sand, not a care in the world.

Then I'd feel a warm embrace, and he'd be next to me, holding me tight, never letting me go.

"Michael?" I would ask, shock invading my senses.

He would flash his perfect smile and kiss my forehead. "The very same."

"I-I love you," I would stutter, overcome with amazement.

"I love you more, and most," he would reply wittily, sliding a lock of my hair behind my ear and kissing my temple.

I heard the waves crashing against the boat, and returned to reality.

The one place that Michael wasn't in.

A single tear fell down my cheek, as I gazed longingly into the distance, wishing with all my heart that he could have been there with me.

"I love you, Michael," I said my final words, closing my eyes and allowing the tears to run down my face.

I needed him.

He was all I needed to be happy.

"I love you more, and most," I heard a voice say softly.

I blinked quickly twice, and turned my head.

The dove was back, standing in the same place as before.

It stared at me, flapping its wings gently.

Its feathers shook a little from the wind.

"You're back," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Did you miss me?"

The bird acknowledged me in no way, and simply continued to stare.

Its brown eyes were piercing and intense, and I couldn't help but keep my own eyes fixated on them.

They still looked familiar, yet I still found myself struggling to figure out where I'd seen them.

It felt obvious, though. Very obvious.

I reached out to touch the dove's feathers, but it flinched and took off from the boat, flying backwards to avoid my touch.

Once I had lowered my arm again, it resumed standing in the same place as before.

I looked away for a brief moment, to see the island gradually coming nearer.

"I will always love you, always," I heard the same voice as before.

I knew the voice from anywhere - it was Michael's.

But I knew it was all just in my head, so I smiled in acknowledgement and turned around to see the dove had gone again.

I looked up and saw it flying towards the sun, its silhouette easily depicted in the sun's rays.

"Goodbye," I muttered, raising my arm up and waving.

I was going to look back at the island, but something stopped me from doing so.

The sky grew lighter, and the sun seemed like it was spreading itself across the entire sky.

I continued to watch, as the light grew bigger and brighter, and, just as quickly as it had arrived, it vanished.

I saw the dove's silhouette flying back to me, and watched it approach.

However, the shape of the dove was not a bird.

And as it flew nearer, the shape became more clear - it was a human.

A human with wings.

An angel.

As it neared, the shadow became a bright light, so bright that I couldn't see what stood in front of me as it landed.

I shielded my eyes, and through my fingers, I saw the light dimming.

I slowly uncovered my eyes, until I could see clearly again.

The light gradually dissolved, and a figure was growing clearer and clearer.

My prediction was correct - it was a human.

"I will always love you, always," I heard Michael's voice echoing in my ears.

I looked over at the figure, which stood just meters away from me.

I strained my eyes, until the last of the bright light went.

It was just a figure with a few sun rays radiating from it.

I opened my eyes fully, and I could see clearly who it was.

A man, with a simple white V-neck shirt and matching overshirt, black slacks, white socks and black penny loafers.

He also had beautiful, white, feathered angel wings, which drooped right to the floor.

He had deep brown eyes, light skin and perfect, shoulder-length black curls that were swept sideways by the wind.

"M-Michael?" I gasped, unable to believe what I saw.

"The very same," he whispered, and I swallowed hard to reduce the risk of crying.

This isn't real, I told myself, and I turned around to face the ocean.

This wasn't real, of course. Just an illusion. Michael passed away almost six years ago, why would he return?

I closed my eyes, as I felt a warm embrace around the entirety of my body.

I shivered lightly, before feeling a pair of soft lips touch my temple gently.

I opened my eyes, and looked down to see the feathers from Michael's wings wrapped around me.

I turned my head and saw Michael's head leaning on my shoulder, his eyes closed, lost in the moment.

I felt my throat tense up as I looked down on Michael, feeling his chest move lightly against my back as he inhaled and exhaled.

He looked so calm, so peaceful, so beautiful.

Heaven was obviously treating him with more respect than Earth had done before he went.

Maybe this was real.

But the funny thing was, this was the Dangerous era Michael, not the This Is It era Michael.

The This Is It era was the era Michael had passed away in, so it would've been more logical for him to return as the This Is It era Michael.

But I wouldn't complain, Michael was there with me, and that was the most amazing feeling in this world.

"Michael," I muttered, in disbelief of how calm I was. "If this is truly real, give me some kind of sign."

I felt Michael's wings separate from my body, and he removed his head from my shoulder.

I could no longer feel his touch, and I wanted to cry.

"M-Michael," I murmured sadly, waiting for an indication that this was real.

"You and I were never separate. It's just an illusion," I heard his voice whisper into my ear.

"An illusion?" I questioned softly, taken aback by the warm breath I could feel in my ear.

"An illusion," he clarifies, his tone calm and inviting. "I've always been here."

I spun my body around, and saw his heavenly figure standing meters away from me.

"I've always been right here," he repeats, his wings and arms spreading out, inviting me in.

I took the invitation, and ran over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my head deep into his chest.

I felt his arms around my upper back, and his wings blanketing me entirely.

Tears escaped from my eyes, and leaked onto his white undershirt.

He placed his middle and forefinger under my chin, and lifted my head, so we made eye contact.

He saw my tears, and used his thumb to dab them away soothingly.

"I've always been here for you," he said once again. "And I'll never let us part."

I looked up at his innocent face, and the sparkle in his eyes sent shivers down my spine.

"I-I love you," I found myself whispering.

"You know I will always beat you at that game," Michael smiled. "I love you more, and most."

The wind swept my hair back, and I could feel the feathers from Michael's wings brushing against the back of my neck.

"So, you're learning to become a free spirit?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," I exhaled in response, short of breath from what I was experiencing.

"I became one, almost six years ago," he replied, stepping back to look at me, holding both my hands in both of his.

"But that's when you—"

"Died, I know," he said, a hint of sadness in his tone. "That's the only way you can really be free."

"But I'm free now," I muttered. "That's why I'm here."

"It's just an illusion," Michael assured me. "Wrought by the magical Lens of Perception."

"What does that mean?" I asked unsurely.

"You'll never be a free spirit while you live, that's just an illusion, seen in your eyes through the Lens of Perception," he explained.

"Then why am I here?" I asked softly, my voice giving way because of who I was talking to.

"To escape the harsh reality you live in," Michael told me. "You're escaping, not becoming a free spirit."

"Then what must I do to become a free spirit?" I asked.

"Is it not obvious?" he sighed. "There's only one way in which I am a free spirit." He walked slowly closer to me, and wrapped his wings around me once again. "Only one way."

"Are you suggesting I must die?" I gasped.

"Death is just an illusion," he assured me. "Just an illusion."

"Why must everything be an illusion?" I asked myself. "Is there nothing real in this life?"

"Of course," Michael heard my words. "There is respect, trust, devotion, loyalty and love."

"I show all of them towards you," I smiled.

"And I show them in return," he replied warmly, kissing my forehead lightly.

I wrapped my arms around his waist once again, squeezing tightly, never wanting to let go.

Never wanting any of this to go.

"I never want you to leave me," I admitted, a tear running slowly down my cheek.

"Then become a free spirit," he advised me. "That's all you have to do."

"I'm not sure I want to leave this world, yet," I sigh, feeling scared at the idea of death.

"Then stay here. I'll always be here anyway," he told me.

"But I won't be able to see you, and you're all that matters in my life," I frowned.

"It's your choice, sweetheart," he said, looking up at the sky. "But I must go, now. God's calling me."

He kissed my cheek a final time, before taking off into the sky.

I watched him fly into the distance, feeling pain in my heart because he was gone.

"You and I were never separate," his voice rung in my ears. "It's just an illusion."

"Death is just an illusion."

"It's all just an illusion, wrought by the magical Lens of Perception."

If life was just an illusion, but all the feelings we experienced was not, then all I had in my heart was feelings of love, devotion, respect, trust and loyalty.

I felt I understood Michael's words now, that everything I've ever known was just an illusion.

All good things were, in fact, real.

All bad things were not.

I looked up into the sky, and raised my right hand up, reaching out to touch nothingness.

"Wait! Take me with you!" I called.

I wanted to be with him; to be a free spirit. I was done with all the illusions, I wanted everything to be real.

I saw Michael's face fill the entire sky, with a warm smile, inviting me to a world where everything was real, and nothing was an illusion.

Where I could be a free spirit.

The way I always wanted to be.

If life was just an illusion, I wanted no part of it.

"Make the move," I heard Michael's voice commanding me softly. "Make the move."

"I will," I said calmly, climbing up onto the edge of the ship. "I'm going to be a free spirit."

I closed my eyes, taking in a final breath of air, before I allowed myself to fall down, to the water.

But I heard no splash, and felt no cold.

I opened my eyes, and I was floating.

Above the water.

"How?" I questioned almost silently, looking down at the ocean below me.

"You're a free spirit now," I turned my head and saw the dove. "A free spirit can be and do whatever it wants."

"Michael... you're the dove?" I asked, gliding slowly towards it.

"That's right," the dove told me. "It's just an illusion, wrought by the magical Lens of Perception."

"I thought a free spirit experienced no illusions," I said with disappointment.

"The only illusion you can possibly experience, as a free spirit, is one you create yourself," the dove explained.

"But you're not Michael, you're a dove. Only you can control that," I whispered.

"Close your eyes, and imagine me, just Michael, no dove. Go on, imagine it, picture it," the dove demanded softly.

I closed my eyes, and imagined the dove transforming into Michael.

The feathers changed to skin and hair, the beak turned into a mouth and nose, and the thin dove legs transformed into human ones.

The only things that remained the same were the eyes, and the angel wings.

I opened my eyes, and there he was, standing in front of me, a soothing smile upon his face.

"See?" he chuckled, inviting me into his embrace. "It's just an illusion."

I now realised that any image I saw in front of me was just my imagination, unless it was something I truly cared for.

"But I know you're not an illusion," I smiled, inhaling deeply as I hugged him tightly. "Because my love for you is real."

"You're learning," he whispered proudly.

"So now, we're both free spirits?" I asked.

"Both of us. And that's no illusion," Michael told me.

"You and I will never separate, right?" I said hopefully.

Michael squeezed me slightly tighter, and kissed my forehead once more.

His warm breath tickled my skin, and he laughed softly as he looked deep into my eyes.

"Never. You're no illusion. I'll never let you part, for you're always in my heart."

~~

This one is really deep, so if you don't understand then I'm sorry. x) Michaelmakemyday you wanted this one going up so... here!