Twenty four is a block party around the corner.
I don't know who will be attending, but I know love has an open invitation.
As the bass grows louder, to the point where I can feel it on the inside, I mirror myself. Check yourself, lest you wreck yourself. And in this technicolour hodgepodge of memory, is the attempt. I re-don the glasses that my seven year old self once saw the world through and hold an interview.

7:Wow, you're me, this is pretty cool.

23:Tell me about it, nice hair, when is the last time you cut it?

7: Wow, can I touch you?

23: *hug*

7: So am I supposed to ask you a bunch of questions or something?

23: Yeah, I would like that a lot. As you can see, a lot has happened over the years. Right now you're just learning about the difference between right and wrong. And the answers you come up with, will, one day, make you me.

7: This is sooooo cool, how many pushups can you do?

23: Don't worry about it little man, around 21 we're going to understand the importance of keeping fit. Right now, we go to the gym on the regular and we go longboarding for huge missions. But to answer the original question, it's been awhile, so let's say 100 easy.

7: What is longboarding?

23: Ohhh yea, last winter we moved out to BC, cause in time, believe you will come to absolutely hate the snow and cold. So you're going to meet some really illin people out there and they're going to teach us how to longboard, which is kinda like a really long skateboard.

7: Like Michealangelo?

23: Exactly

7: Wow!!! We get tattoos?!

23: For sure, right now we have 4. This one means Team Moores/Trackmongers for life. In high school we meet some of our best friends, brothers really, and this tattoo is to celebrate that, see the lady here, watch this. *flexes and she does the love wiggle*

7: Niiiiiiice!

23: Also we have a some japanese on our back, the kanjis mean: royalty, destiny and wisdom. And you will one day submit your life to God and that's what this one on my wrist is for. It means Om, that God is everything and everywhere, kind of a reminder. And across our back we have a bible quote, Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us." And this one that says MR on your shoulder stands for "Mind Right," it is in memory of one of the greatest lessons you will ever learn.

7: And what lesson is that?

23: Let's just say it's about the relationship between our head and our heart.

7: That's cool. So what kind of a job do you have? I don't really know what I want to be.

23: Don't worry about that, we don't get that one until we have the epiphany in Fiji. First you have to understand there is a difference between a job and a career. We've had so many jobs but right now we are in college, studying business and marketing, cause I know what I'm going to do with the rest of our life with crystal clear certainty.

7: And what is that?

23: We're going to help convince the world to save itself.

7: What like Batman?

23: Hahahaha! Not really, we're just going to get to a place where a lot of people listen to us, and our message is about love. And my little one, you will learn in time that, no one, from Hitler to the Joker, can say 'no' to love.

7: And how are we going to do that?

23: Well, do you remember how much you like to write poems, hang out with your friends, and build lego?

7: I love lego!!!

23: Don't worry, even today, we still have a box in the closet, just in case. But we still do those things only today we do it in a bigger way. We still write poems, hangout with our friends, and instead of lego we build what is called a network. Right now, we are working to make our message of love and friends with thier own message of love, come together and make things for everyone to enjoy. Like songs and writing and art.

7: Do we make songs?

23: Of course, lil homie, let me put it to you this way:
Everyday I wake up/with love on my lips
Kiss my hands/ now it's on my fingertips
Then I go across this land/ shaking everybody's hand
The smiles understand/ and we are a part of God's Plan

7: Awesome! Did you just think of that now?

23: Yeah, eventually you'll learn to make poems up quickly in your head and say them in a musical way. It's called freestyling. You're going to love it like Deep and Delicious cake. Which also brings me to your true love.

7: Whoaaa! Ewww...girls.

23: Haha, that opinion will change in a big way. But it's not a person, it's music. Especially something called hiphop.

7: What's hiphop?

23: Wow...let's just say it's a type of music, that when you hear it in grade seven, you're going to fall head over heels for it. You're going to wear it like a second skin. It's music about love, struggle and success. It will be in front of every thought you have. Believe me it runs the blood, Nick, your cousin Kam and a lot of your friends will be involved with it too.

7:That's cool. Hmmm...so you're all grown up and stuff. Do we have a wife and kids and stuff like that?

23: Are you crazy? We're not that old yet. You'll get to a point where life becomes all about the challenge of doing new and interesting things. Especially travelling. You're going to see a lot of different places and meet a lot of really good hearted people. But to get back to your original question, I actually just started considering that, cause eventually I do want a family and to settle down, but right now, life is just too good. There are a lot of lessons out there, and before I decide on a decision that big, I have a few more things to learn. But there is a saying that will guide you called "Insha'Allah" which means that you are in God's hands. And believe that God knows how to run the universe better then we ever will. So when we meet the right girl, everything will happen the way it is supposed to.

7: You keep talking about God and have those tattoos, what's up with that?

23: Now we get into it. You're going to find yourself in Saskatchewan, yeah I know, you won't be there long, and that very question is going to change your life. If I remember correctly, right now you're kind of feeling like life is kind of pointless, that nothing really matters and especially with everything happening with Mom, that life sucks, right?

7: Well...yeah....kinda, I mean, nothing but bad stuff happens all the time. No matter what I do, I can't help it. It makes me sad and makes me feel that if this is what life is like, then why should I live. It feels like there is a big hole inside me.

23: *hug*
23: I know, little G, I know better than anyone. What is happening to you is called suffering. You think about things and nothing adds up. Why do bad things happen to good people? Believe me it's all part of life. And I know that this is not going to help, but here's a heads up. In the next few years it is only going to get worse. A lot worse. And then things are going to look up, then everything will fall apart and you're going to hit what is called "Rock Bottom." You'll even get to a point where you're seriously going to think about killing yourself. You're going to feel pain in a lot of different ways and from a lot of different places. Then you'll get to a point where you get fed up and let a kind of ice build up around your heart, to the point where life is grey and cold and you don't let anybody inside. But help will come in the form of a very special girl and your close friends and they will show you flashes of love, and give you a bit of hope. It isn't until you give your life to the Most High that you will understand what love is about. But even that comes with a price, trust me you will learn about sacrifice, and then life will take a crazy turn and with so much love that sometimes crying is the only way to get it out, you'll be excited for every moment. So much so, that even bad things will begin to feel like gifts. That hole that you feel right now will become an ocean, and then even when it rains, you'll still feel the sun. I promise, things may look grim right now, but hold on and keep fighting and I promise, everything will be more than alright.

7: I know you're me and everything, but I don't really believe you. Life is hard and I feel lonely sometimes.

23: I know little G, I know. And although it may seem like nothing, it is all a question of faith. You have yet to learn the law of equivalent trade. That in karma, which is cause and effect, like good makes more good and bad makes more bad, you have to give something of equal value to get something else of the same value. And right now you're paying the price of suffering to learn about how great love is. And it sucks, I know, but put it this way, how could you enjoy playing outside in the summer, if you didn't have to play inside all winter? The universe we live in is a strange and funny place, and I know that right now you can't see it, but it is built with love, every molecule, every little bit. What you feel right now, at the root of it is fear. You are afraid of the unknown, of something that doesn't exist yet. But once you understand that the world is made of love, you'll look forward to tommorow while enjoying today. Cause love is the only thing that when you give it, you get more back. And when you get that, you can get anything.

7: Anything?

23: Anything and everything you need you already have. To live, all we need is food, shelter and clothing. You have everything you need. What you want, now that is where things get sticky. But when you put your heart into something and truly work for it, when it is a labour of love, then not only will you get what you want, but you'll get it in a way that is better times a million. Believe me, this life has been amazing. We have kissed some of the prettiest girls in the world, seen the tops of mountains and swam in both oceans. Actually, where we live right now, you can walk to the beach. And there is no winter at all. And there is only more goodness to come. It's about working hard and loving the work, then you get what you need. Sometimes it is exactly what you want, sometimes it's something completely different, but you always, always get what you need. Masha'Allah.

7: Masha'Allah?

23: It means "Thanks be to God," you'll come to understand that all you are is an instrument in God's hands. That everything you do, say or are, is because God wants it that way. You are like a tuba in God's band. God will play the notes he wants to the right rhythm and you will make the sound. And it is up to you to keep that tuba sounding and looking good. Cause that is your purpose for being here, to make music in the way that God wants the song to sound. And then you get together with your friends, guitar and clarinet, and if they know and care about the sound they make, then all of you together make the most glorious music. It's pretty much the best thing in life. Just be careful not to forget that everyone, even bad or stinky people, are instruments just like you and that you are all the same. Just some people are more aware of what they are doing than others. And also, you'll be able to feel when the notes that come out of you are coming out true. Every once and awhile we all need a good tuning.

7: I think I get it now, but how do I know if I'm a tuba or a guitar or a clarinet?

23: Great question! *high five*
23: Well, I don't think you ever get to know what instrument you are. What is really important is how the music comes out. Cause you'll find yourself in new situations everyday. Sometimes your going to be singing at the front of the band with all the attention on you, other times you have to be the drummer behind the band keeping everyone on time. We can never really know the whole song either, cause the sound alone would make our heads pop with all the joy in it. It's really a matter of making the best sound you can from the best instrument you can be. Also you never get to see the sheet music of the song, it is like one perfect giant jam, where everyone just vibes with everyone else. How much fun would a birthday party be if everyone was told what to do? It's when people show up and get together that the magic happens. As long as no one trashes the place, or acts like a doofus, then everyone has a good time and everyone gets a slice of the cake.

7: I get you, I love cake too.

23: That will never change little one.

7: So I have to think about what you said, cause even though I don't understand a lot of it, it somehow feels right inside.

23: Yeah, about that, here is where the tragedy kicks in. This is all a dream, you're going to wake up and go back to your life. Cause I am a product of you. You are the roots that eventually break the soil, and I am the leaves that feast on the warm sunlight. But know that I take you with me everyday. And that we have lived a great life and it is only going to get better as we learn better ways to enjoy it. And the right now I'm going to tell you one of the best things I've ever come to realize in my whole life, something that is worth more to me than the all the stars in the sky and all the tea in China.

7: Mom always says that.

23: Yeah that will annoy you to the point where you want to pull your hair out, you grow up and take on the most annoying parts of your parents.

7: So what is the most important thing you wanted to tell me?

23: I love you.