"If I can reach the stars,
Pull one down for you,
Shine it on my heart
So you could see the truth:
That this love I have inside
Is everything it seems.
But for now I find
It's only in my dreams."

He walked through the empty hallways as he traced his fingers along the empty, white walls.  He was here to say good-bye to a dear friend, a gift from God.  He remembered the day that she was diagnosed with Leukemia.  They were both terrified...not knowing what to do or say.  He remembered what she said when he asked her what her dream was.  "To change someone's life....to make someone happy...".  If only she knew...she had changed the life of everyone that had known her.  She was a godsend, sent on a mission to change the lives of all that were blessed enough to know her. She had made him the man he was today.

"And I can change the world,
I will be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world."

He stopped in front of her room as he felt a twinge in his heart.  This was it...his final goodbye.  A tear fell down his cheek as he tried to hold back the many that were threatening to fall.  She had changed him.  She saved him from a life of sorrow and misery.  Throughout all these years he had never realized it, but he had fallen in love with an angel.  It was as if God had sent one of his most cherished angels down to earth and she had chosen him.  He remembered the day they had first met...he told his mother that an angel had moved in next door to them.  His prayers had been answered.

"And if I could be king,
Even for a day,
I'd take you as my queen;
I'd have it no other way.
And our love would rule
This kingdom we had made.
Till then I'd be a fool,
Wishing for the day..."

"Layla?" he said as he quietly stepped into the room. He could hear the sounds of the heart monitors steadily beeping as he saw her laying on the bed. 

"Nick?  You made it..." she whispered, while trying to lift her hand. 

"Shhh...I'm here, I'm not going anywhere" Nick said as he cradled her trembling body into his arms. 

"It hurts so much" she cried out as tears began to stream down her cheeks. 

He gently rocked her back and forth as he whispered comforting words into her ears.  He had to tell her....why had he waited so long?

"That I can change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world."

Nick gently laid Layla's frail body onto the bed.  Her breathing  had become rigid. 

"Nick," she said quietly with a tone of panic. 

Nick looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. 

"Do you think I fulfilled my dream?" she said as her brown eyes stared up at him. 

Nick smiled as he kissed her forehead.  Tears cascaded down his cheeks as he looked at her, his eyes full of a love that she had never seen before.  "Yes you did....you taught me how to love, you changed me....more than you'll ever know." 

Layla smiled at him as she gently touched his cheek.

Nick brushed his lips lightly over hers. 

"I love you Nick....I always have.."  she said before her hand fell limp. 

A steady tone filled the room as Nick collasped onto her body.  "Layla...please...dont leave me.." He cried out as he ran a hand across her cheek.  She was gone...His angel had gone back to heaven.  She had changed his world and he would never forget.

"I could change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world."
 

*"Change The World" lyrics written by Eric Clapton and Babyface.