Kai stepped outside of his house and sat in the patio chair, sighing. He watched the trees ablaze of red, orange, and brown drop leaves one by one onto his ignored lawn.

Lately, that was his favorite thing to do.

Sit, sigh, and watch.

There was no one he could visit.

His mom left to another country and apparently changed her name.

His dad died of cancer a couple years later.

His girlfriend left him days before the wedding, and married someone else, never looking back.

His friends all moved away with their families, leaving only empty promises of calling.

There was nothing artistic to do.

Scattered and strewn all over the hallways and rooms were paintings and sculptures and collages and drawings and sketches and pottery and who-knows-what-else.

Museum curators, art critics, potential buyers, they all came. But they all ended up leaving, because Kai's work was too depressing and lifeless.

Life , he thought.

Kai sat in his "inspiration room" with a clean canvas in front of him and a few paintbrushes and colors at his side.

A huge window overlooked a beautiful, lush forest and a couple of majestic, looming mountains in the far distance. Soft, white clouds sprinkled the clear, blue sky, and a calm breeze blew across the landscape. Closer to the house, a neighborhood playground was inhabited by a few innocent children, either on the see-saws, swings, or slides.

Kai saw none of that.

He drew about five or six stone, dead trees, with a gray hill burning with flames behing them. Angry storms gathered in the sky, blocking all sunlight and gave the painting a breatheless tone. A broken-down see-saw sat inert in the dusty field, the crumbled remains of many slides, and a swing with one of the support beams broken made it look like the swing was kneeling down in despair.

"You're crazy."

Surprised, his brush smeared across picture, covering the fire with a sick, gray wipe.

Standing next to him was a young-looking woman with a light-orange flowing dress that reached her knees and her wrists, and over that was a thin, red cardigan. Her hair was brown and long, and her eyes were full of curiosity and that age-less quality. Her hands were on her hips and her lips were pursed in bewilderment, leaning forward to see the artwork better.

"I see an alluring, lovely landscape through the window, yet you see a barren, desolate scene. Why?"

Kai shook his head, puzzled. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

She rose up to full height. "I'm your Aunt Suzy. Your father was my older brother."

He gave a short nod, sighed, and faced his creation.

Aunt Suzy tutted. "You look like you gave up on life."

Kai looked up to see his aunt's eyes, and she was surprised at what she saw.

She saw a pale face, drained of color, and melancholy eyes that used to be abundant of life and glow.

She gasped. "What happened to you?"

He faced the floor again. "Life. That's what happened to me."

Aunt Suzy sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the room.

"Where are we going?" he groaned.

She forced him into the hallway and made him stare at every work he's done.

"Look at them!" she exclaimed. "So empty, so dismal, so mournful. What happened to the Kai that finger-painted me a turkey all those years ago? Well, at least it's not all that sorrowful here," she commented, peering at the many plants lining the hallways. "You got a couple aloes, ferns, the like."

Kai glanced at her. "Are we done?"

Suzy smiled. "Let's go outside. I have a present for you."

"My gift is a 100-pound block of green marble?" Kai said unenthusiastically.

She clapped her hands. "Nope! It's about 200 pounds, give or take a few. But this rock is special. Whatever you sculpt will come to life!"

He bent his head down. "I don't want it."

Suzy reached over and took hold of his shoulders, shaking him. "Yes you do!"

She faced the block. "I want you to create a person. Boy or girl. Envision and carve a friend, or a lover, or someone else."

"But here's what you must do to make it alive," she continued. "Pick a plant, any plant," Suzy said, gesturing to the greens down the hall. "Pick a leaf off of the stem and lay it on the base of the statue. Overnight, it'll come to life!" she said joyfully.

"I don't believe you," Kai said honestly. "Dad always said you were crazy and disillusioned, going after talismans and amulets, believing in superstition, trying to talk to ghosts, an-"

"It's all in the way you look at it," she said. "If you don't believe me, then don't try."

He gazed intently at the marble. "What's the catch?"

She smiled, but there was something sad about it. "The statue will share the same life-force as the plant you choose. Once the last leaf falls, the plant will wilt, and the statue will go back to its cold, unmoving state."

He nodded. "Thank you. . . Aunt Suzy."

She smiled again. "Of course. I'll be back in 4 month's time, on the spring equinox. That is the last day you are given to work on the statue. On the equinox, you need to pick a leaf and lay it down, or else you have to wait a whole year for another chance. So while you're sculpting, it wouldn't hurt to study some of these plants to see which one you want to choose."

Kai nodded, and led Aunt Suzy to the door.

He watched as his aunt left down the road, and once he couldn't see her, he shuffled inside and searched for his chisel and hammer.