[/i] forthcoming about his thoughts and hopes. Mika is a genuine ray of sunshine in an otherwise cold blooded recluse. When he isn’t focused on the presence of other people or their intentions, his comfortable side shows through. This is what produces the warmth mentioned before. Mika puts out honest to goodness good vibes. Optimism on tap, with only enough sassy realism to give it a twist of lemon. Mika can go on for hours about the possibilities in things. The surprises that could be hiding just beneath the surface. He is a terrible day dreamer. Letting his imagination pursue these discoveries whether they exist or not. His mouth a ramble fountain of hopeful hypotheses and speculative calculations.


[break][break]


Mika sees things as their parts, and then imagines them as everything those pieces could build. Everything they could be. So long...heh, so long as no one pulls him out -literally by touching- of his zen; Mika can be the greatest source of encouragement. If it weren’t so damn awkward talking to a group of people. Having all their eyes crawl up under your skin. Mika could be quite the motivational leader. With all that lively vigor...and an expansive vocabulary to reinforce it. Instead of this, Mika uses his inspiring ambition for other purposes. Far more selfish ones. The young man uses his passion to fuel is work in biology and other sciences. Ever putting his wishful thinking into the pursuit of medical improvements. Wanting to make the outlandish dreams he has into realities. To discover the things that already exist in his thoughts. Only to then use them as stepping stones to reach the next scientific marvel. Imagination birthing creation that inspires imagination. A, hopefully, perpetual cycle. This pursuit has thus far proved successful, and has consequently added to Mika’s personality. Making him observant, calculating, and methodical.


[break][break]


[li]A Doctor’s Methodology[/li]
It would be wrong to call Mika a doctor. That title is reserved for people who jump through the hoops and earn certifications. Mika; while highly educated...hasn’t fulfilled any of the official requirements needed to become a physician. Years spent in study and training to reach this goal have had their effects. Though Mika can often times come off as immature or naive, the truth is he is a well disciplined research. One who both understands and appreciates the procedures that go into proper experimentation. This particular method of problem solving has proven to be very effective. Provides him some balance and control over his otherwise flighty mind. Keeping him...grounded. Mika would brag about his critical thinking, honestly. Even if it doesn’t seem to lend much to the notion of “freedom” that most riders ascribe to. But when you are as curious as Mika is. When you truly want to understand everything you come across to its smallest aspects. It is important to not get carried away with the existential. Wanting to fly. Believing that it will one day happen. Even when you believe it more than anything. Isn’t nearly as important as being motivated and focused enough to build yourself a gosh darn airplane. So here is Mika. Caught somewhere between both.


[break][break]


Some will see the dreamer. Some will see the planner. Miak would prefer to be both. However, there are still flaws to everything. Just like wishful thinking is nothing without willful effort. Dedication to routine can give you much more than dreams turned reality. Sometimes...you build a nightmare instead. Sometimes when Mika is working, the pathological ticks become very evident. He does things based on a plan. Steps are maintained and followed. Often times this causes him to make slow decisions. After all, one can’t follow their instinct if it deviates from the plan. Mika is often locked in his procedure and abandoning it becomes difficult. Something will shake his confidence, and he will repeat himself for assurity. With no guarantee that only one repetition will do. Mika can be faulted for doing things merely out of compulsion. An ironic twist on not being able to react instinctively. Being forced to do something out of habit, rather than encouraged by his good senses and judgement. Method becomes a tell, giving away his intentions. Procedure becomes a prison for creativity. Structure becomes a crutch. People will see Mika struggling with this. Quietly arguing with himself. Becoming frustrated with what are often simple problems. Even getting angry at repeated failures. Not angry at the problem, though. Angry with himself. Disappointed in his shortcomings. Something he often struggles with. Which leads us back to his odd style, and why he feels the need to act out than simply be himself.


[break][break]


[li]A Reject's Insecurity[/li]
Mika was never really a reject. No one ever threw him away or actively shunned him. The young man just developed these feelings about himself as time went on. Several incidents spread over his life created these feelings. They were nurtured by the same doubts that plague most of us. The only real misfortune that he has experienced; is that he never met anyone who convinced him to think differently. And that could be more on him that fate or society! Either way. What has been fostered over years of lingering paranoia and unmet intimacy is that Mika doesn’t particularly like himself. More specifically, he doesn’t much care for his physical self. Finding his less than handsome looks upsetting. His scrawny physique a handicap to his potential. All of this shows in his personality whenever anyone gets close. Physically. Emotionally. It doesn’t really matter. Both leave him feeling exposed and scrutinized. Even if he was the only one doing any scrutinizing...or worse, exposing. For Mika’s feelings about his appearance are manageable. He tends to distract himself from such petty worries with speculation and investigation with wants around him. Relying heavily on his senses for support and sanctuary from introspection. How does any of this effect or showcase itself to others? Why with questions of course!


[break][break]


What else would a curiosity driven academic do to control awkward scenarios? Whenever Mika finds himself forced into close proximity with other people, he tries to take control. Using his peculiar style to grab attention and a flurry of questions to sate his desires. First, his desire to learn what he can about...everything. Second, to make sure they can’t ask about him. As long as he is talking. Leading the discussion. He can keep it focused on something or someone else. Something, anything, external. In doing so he comes off as quite forward and confident. A ruse to disguise his anxiety at appearing as anything else. However, this strategy doesn’t always work. Sometimes he meets and equally powerful personality as his. Sometimes he just can’t find anything to be a proper distraction. In these moments, the insecurities replace charisma. Peculiarity turns into plain weirdo. For when someone cracks Mika’s exterior, they find the inside far less noisy and uplifting. All the passion that smothers one minute...fading into uneasy silence. Mika turns out to be, well, quite shy.


[break][break]


Though he is still the same guy. Wide eyed and curious and whatever. When pushed into an uncomfortable situation; Mika will endeavor to outsmart...outmaneuver it. The young man will get much more quiet, and be far more inspired to walk away. Eyes darting to whatever catches them first. Pulling the rest of him to follow. Mika can seem cold. Definitely distant. However, this is only when there is absolutely nothing else around but the offending party. But honestly, who wouldn’t act weird when forced into an isolated environment with a strange? Or coworker? Or close friend? Family member? Partner? Etc. So. Really. When you put it into perspective, he’s not that strange. I mean he still has an unhealthy psychological hang up. But it is a common one. And more importantly. It is something that he works hard to overcome. In one sense or another. For while he may never be happy to spill his emotional guts for another person, he can damn sure bring himself to make short, intermittent physical contact with them! And that is progress. Which, so happens, to progress us to the final aspect of his personality.


[break][break]


[li]The Rider’s Horizon[/li]
You hear a lot of Air Trekers talking mad shit about things like “the sky” and “freedom”. Almost every person wearing a fancy pair of roller blades seems to be a philosopher in one sense or another. Each with their own grand ideal about how life is to be lived. What's important. How we learn who we really are. How we become truly free. And honestly? Mika f*cking loves it. Often times, Mika can only have meaningful conversations with someone if they are in Air Treks. People seem to just open up with them on. Something about the power to chase whatever road or destiny you want, liberates their hearts and passions. In those moments...Mika can connect with people. Albeit at a safe distance, well out of their reach. See. When they open up about how the feel when riding. When they share the lens with which they view the world. Mika can enjoy it without doubt or hesitation. Much like the way he can handle conversations where he is asking the questions. Or, better yet, ones where he is unleashing a torrent of passionate speculations about some new idea or stimulus. When these trekkers talk about their roads, they aren’t really paying attention to Mika. Even he can tell that much, and he sucks at understanding body language and tone. He can sense that they are being both honest and dismissive of his presence. That is his freaking jam, man. Sitting back. A spectator to the wonder of life. Feeding off of its beauty without having to intervene or contribute. Heh, well...at least at first. The truth is, riders talk about their roads as they talk about themselves. And just as a road must stretch towards a horizon, so must the rider grow and develop. Mika is no exception. In fact, he might be the biggest proponent of this ideal that comes around. For more than most, Mika needs to grow and develop. To improve and accept himself, as he accepts his path...and improves it with each new laid brick.[/ul][/div]





[/b][break]
-Engineering[break]
-Epidemiology[break]
-Human Anatomy[break]
-Marine Biology[break]
-Pharmacology[break]
-Physics[break]
-Programming


[break][break]


[li]Animals[/li]
”They are better than people. ‘nough said.” He just finds it easier to deal with things that can’t hide their intentions.


[break][break]


[li]Cleaning[/li]
Mika enjoys laboratory work, and that necessitates an appreciation of cleanliness. Besides, the last thing a self conscious person needs is body odor.


[break][break]


[li]Cooking[/li]
Chemistry you can eat! ”Also, no one is a better cook than me.


[break][break]


[li]Dancing[/li]
”I don’t love dancing, it loves me.” Proceeds to krank the funk, and bobble and wobble. Seriously...such a dork.


[break][break]


[li]Doodling[/li]
Mika is a so-so artist. He just draws a lot because his imagination is always pouring out of him.


[break][break]


[li]Experimenting[/li]
”Coming up with an idea, and then designing a test to see if it is real. It may be work, but making reality out of dreams is my kind of work.” No matter what Mika is doing. Studying or Treking. He is always testing new things.


[break][break]


[li]Factories[/li]
There is something beautiful about a factory lit up and puffing exhaust. The productivity. Like a church of creation.


[break][break]


[li]Flowers[/li]
”The look nice and smell pretty.”

”...what?”

[break][break]


[li]Gene Therapy[/li]
Given Mika’s extensive medical knowledge, and glossing over his self criticism, Mika believes gene therapy to be a wonderful thing. A stepping stone to a better world.


[break][break]


[li]Horrorflicks[/li]
”A jump scare is exactly what the brain needs in the morning. Adrenaline is better than coffee.”


[break][break]


[li]Hospitals[/li]
Mika always wanted to be a doctor. He just didn’t have what it took to survive the pressures of medical school. Its cool though, his bedside manner would have been awful.


[break][break]


[li]Kites[/li]
”Show me an AT rider who doesn’t like kites; then I will show you someone who isn’t an AT rider.”


[break][break]


[li]Mysteries[/li]
Dude really loves surprises, and these are whole books written about them. They are enthralling.


[break][break]


[li]Puzzles[/li]
Keeping his mind active and distracted is always a challenge. Anything that can aid in this chore gets on the list. ”Those puzzles that reveal a picture are my jam!”


[break][break]


[li]Records[/li]
Not the musical kind. Archives. Data stores. Libraries. Server farms. Brains. Anywhere he can access vast amounts of information or memories.


[break][break]


[li]Robots[/li]
”I’m not sure how to explain myself. You do know what robots are, right?”


[break][break]


[li]Smoking[/li]
Ok. So everyone has a guilty vice. Mika’s is tobacco*. Though his years of medical study, and common sense, both say he shouldn’t.[break]_{*Cannabis, Opiates, Peyote, and various others included.}


[break][break]


[li]Soundwaves[/li]
”Thunder. Submerged explosions. Bass drops. They just feel...right.”


[break][break]


[li]Surprises[/li]
Discovering something unknown. Learning something forgotten. Just, dude. ”Right?! Don’t you get all revved up just thinking about it?” There is no greater pleasure in this world, than the surprise of something new. Even the bad ones. That hurt. ”A lot. Still cool though.” Hella cool.
[/ul]


[break][break]


DISLIKES:

• Bad Food

[/div][break]
What I can’t stand is spoiled, burnt, or just badly prepared food. Some things must be sacred.”[/font]


[break][break]


[li]Cold[/li]
Mika just can’t focus when he is freezing. Body shaking and numbness, they make him shut completely down.


[break][break]


[li]Cremation[/li]
This one is quite personal. Has a lot to do with his mom and his dad. And...probably his fear of fire.


[break][break]


[li]Crowds[/li]
Take the fact that he believes everyone secretly judges his looks and behavior...and raise it by the variable power of x.


[break][break]


[li]Fire[/li]
It doesn’t just hurt. It scars. It doesn’t just kill. It eradicates. Mika loathes the most destructive element.


[break][break]


[li]Forgetting[/li]
”Imagine going to bed only to wake up as an eighty year old you, with no idea how you got so old. That fear keeps me up at night.” Knowing things is Mika’s life’s purpose, forgetting is his destruction.


[break][break]


[li]Hugs[/li]
_{”Too close. Too close. Too clos-”} Yeaaaah...intimacy issues are a bitch. _{”-tooclosetooclosetooclose…”}


[break][break]


[li]Hunger[/li]
It is distracting. Makes him feel weak and inefficient. Plus, it reminds him too much of entropy. Which leads to the heat death of everything. Which leads to cold.


[break][break]


[li]Isolation[/li]
Mika really doesn’t like being close to other people. What he hates more is being alone. What are humans if not hypocritical. Or paradoxical.


[break][break]


[li]Meditation[/li]
This is one of those things that leads back to Mika being alone with himself. Introspection always turns into anxiety and self pity. Gets kinda ugly.


[break][break]


[li]Outerspace[/li]
”An empty, lifeless vacuum that is half parts instant freezing and radiated immolation. Oh yeah, what’s not to love.”


[break][break]


[li]Police[/li]
^{”Man, f*** da police.”}_{Man, f*** da police.}


[break][break]


[li]Politics[/li]
”This shouldn’t count. No one likes politics. Politicians. Governments. Laws. Rules. Taxes.

...CSPAN.”

[break][break]


[li]Secrets[/li]
The opposite of discoveries! People hiding things is about the only thing that motivates Mika to get personal with them.


[break][break]


[li]Sensory Deprivation[/li]
Mika’s mind craves information and like fuel. Being deprived of one, or worse, all of his senses is a living death. No matter how short, ”Is no bueno.”


[break][break]


[li]Symmetry[/li]
This one started with Mika trying to move past is imperfect features. No natural, living this is perfectly symmetrical. Only the Noble Gases are that pure. Despite being spawned from envy, this is a stepping stone to accepting himself.


[break][break]


[li]Time[/li]
”The perception of it, at least. It is just so fickle. Moving slower or faster, suiting in the worst of ways. I just really hate being subject to it. Don’t like being rushed. Don’t like being delayed.”
[break][break]


[li]Violence[/li]
While confrontation can be used for good, Mika prefers it to be friendly. Nonlethal. Sportsman-like, ya dig?


[break][break]


[li]Waste[/li]
This one is big. It encompasses things from himself to the universe. Mika hates the idea of anything being wasted. Nature does her best to reuse everything, and so does Mika.


[break][break]


[li]Dolphins[/li]
Wait, wha-”These monsters have posed a threat to humanity for too long!” Woah, dude. Chil-”No. They're too smart and communicate too well.” What? No. They are cute. We n”eed to wipe them out; while we can. If we lose, these rapists will inherit the earth!”*X-Files music and awkward silence.*
[/ul]


[break][break]


History[break][break]

• Birth

[/font] Secret facilities usually aren’t. The staff often chosen quite carefully from a discrete population. The kind of people who can keep a secret long after everyone stops caring about it. Even from friends, family...children. ”They were coworkers who came from different backgrounds. Mom was born and raised Japanese, and dad was from America. He was some sort of computers guy. An analyst perhaps?” Mika’s father was a researcher, specializing in the human genome. While his work covered all sorts of things from toxicology to genetic modification; the man did spend much of his time just reading results. Again, Mika never really got straight answers. ”Mom was something like a janitor.” His mother was a killer. Recruited from within the country. She was chosen as much for her nativity as her physical aptitude. Having been trained and conditioned by national defense agencies. In truth, there were dozens of women like his mother. She just happened to be the number drawn from the spec ops hat. Proving she was still human, as time went on.


[break][break]


”They spent a lot of time together. Both in and out of work. They both had tough jobs. Grew closer because of it. Started a relationship.” Of sorts. They were assigned to one another. His father being apart of the project that was utilizing his mother. The program being quite rough on its participants. Subjecting them to both physical and mental duress. Both his father and mother sought each other out for relief. ”They had to keep it a secret though. Their office had rules about coworkers dating.” With punishment being a transfer to military prison. ”Dad always said he was worried about being caught, but mom liked him too much to let him get away.” They were property of the project, one worker and one subject. Mika’s mother wanted out, and his father was terrified she would get them in trouble. She clung to him like a lifeline. He was plagued with anxieties and doubt. ”She even teased him about them quitting their jobs and getting married. Maybe even starting a family.” There was only one way for her to leave the program. Pregnancy would disqualify her from continuing. Mika’s father worried only about being caught...but didn’t rebuff her advances. ”It was a little later that they realized they weren’t actually in love. But by then, mom was pregnant with me.”


[break][break]


While not the wisest strategy; his mother’s plan a success. She was just so scared. Anything that could prove to be an exit seemed brilliant at the time. As for his father, he became plagued by even greater worry. ”Seems they were unwilling to take the safe way out. Choosing to stick together and make things work instead. Lucky for me, huh?” There was no chance of his mother aborting him. His unborn self a ticket for her freedom. Though, they didn’t really make things work. After his mother discovered she was pregnant, their relationship became worse. She kept pushing his father to come out into the open with her. He kept refusing and delaying. Fear was getting the better of him; while her hopes had never been higher. ”They fought a lot. The first year was really hard.” Months went on. Her constant pleas being turned away. Leading to further anxiety and frustration. Honestly, her father just wanted it all to go away. And, well...this is where Mika’s story and the truth finally agree. ”She...she died when I was born. There were complications with the pregnancy. Dad never wanted to talk about it.” Yet again, hiding the full story.


[break][break]


While Mika’s mother did die when he was born, it had nothing to do with complications. Their secret was found out before she could come to term. Punishment for keeping such a secret was, really severe. What was done induced an early labor. Mika was born nearly a month prematurely. Only barely holding on to life. ”He couldn’t stay at his job after losing her. He told me once, that losing her changed him.” Mika’s father learned only when it was too late, how much he actually felt for her. Seeing her dead on the operating table brought his whole world down. The secret was out. He was facing the consequences he had always feared. But now...she was gone. He had no one else to share his nightmare with. Except Mika. ”When he was able, he took me and we moved away.” Mika’s father did change. He found the courage he had needed those eight months before. He took Mika and ran. Finally breaking the rules for something meaningful. Someone other than himself. His father tried to escape his former life, the two of them”...were always on the move. I don’t remember staying in one house for very long. Dad had trouble finding work. Plus, raising a kid by yourself. After losing someone you loved...I’m glad he did what he could. Given the situation.”


[break][break]


”I still wonder what my mom was like. I worried that my dad missed her. He told me a lot, that, he regrets a lot of things. That he never told her how he felt. Always telling me to never keep secrets. That you never know when you might lose someone worth the truth. In the end, that stuck with me the most.”


[break][break]


[li]Growth[/li]
”Growing up, it was always just me and dad. We never really had much, but that was alright. Made it easier to move. He chased work where he could find it. Never really found anywhere that was a good fit I guess. Always got these bad feelings about things. Whenever he did, boom, we would pack up and move again.” Mika never learned that his father was still on the run. Even after years of living below the radar. Still wanted by his former superiors. Leaving him quite paranoid for years to come. Something that influenced Mika, without him realizing it. ”He never really sought out a new wife. I guess he never really had a first one. As a consequence, I never got any siblings. Which is...well, I’m not sure...” Being an only child was something Mika thought about a lot. Whether it hurt or helped him is irrelevant now. Still, he never let the curiosity die. How things might have been different growing up with someone else around. Life was just him and his dad for so many years.


[break][break]


For reasons Mika never learned, they lived with the lowest profile possible. Mika, from an early age, was taught to be rather distrusting. His father instilling many important lessons in him during the years he should have been going to kindergarten and elementary. Things like: “the outside is dangerous”, “strangers are very dangerous”, “don’t talk to anyone”, “keep you head down...hide your face”. That last one was actually very odd, but Mika didn’t know any better. His father’s constant fear of their discovery was the encouragement. When Mika was still young he didn’t think much of it. It had been his whole life at that point, so what was there to argue? He listened to his father. Did as he was told. Learned to distrust and conceal himself. All to stay “safe”. ”Dad was always very concerned with strangers. Told me how I could get hurt by them. Even taken. Though I saw lots of parks and playgrounds. Children playing in them. I never go to go to any. Never got to join them. Things were safer that way.”


[break][break]


The formative years were first spent indoors. Their hotels were always too cheap to have televisions. Radios were never very interesting. Mika passed the time in his mind. Playing make believe rather than with toys. Coloring and drawing on whatever blank paper he could find. Takeout menus and napkins. Newspapers. Hotel bibles. You know, the free stuff. Getting a bit older, he started to do chores. Assuming there were any to do. Cleaning and cooking. Those were his first jobs. With his father gone and him stuck inside for hours, they were about all he could do. Plus, he had gone too many nights with his dad returning well after dinnertime. Had to start fending for himself. Good news is, Mika got really good at both. ”I remember it rather vividly. The first time I cooked a meal for us. I had spent all day in our leased room. There was a tv and a kitchenette. I found a cooking network. Had gotten lucky, had all the ingredients for grilled cheese. I tried to make it in the microwave. The cheese...heh, it cheap sliced stuff. Boiled into huge bubbles. The top pieces just fell off instead of keeping it down. When dad got back, saw my failed attempt, he just started laughing. I think...that was the first time I ever heard him laugh. Huh.” After that, his father started buying groceries more often. When they moved, they always looked for an affordable place with a kitchen. Mika got the nickname of chef, and he took to it in stride. Trouble was, he wasn’t learning much living like that. He was getting older, and it was time he went to school.


[break][break]


”I don’t remember going to school much when I was really young. Sometimes dad would talk to me about things. Teach me about them. Most times he was too tired to do so.” The few times Mika was in school, he did as he was taught and stayed away from other kids. It wasn’t hard. ”I was always the new kid. Didn’t have very long to make friends during our stops. The few times we stayed in an area very long, well...I guess I just wasn’t good at it.” He was always a stranger. He was always goofy looking. Plus, kids have a sixth sense about things. They stick away from weird most times. Or they are just snot nosed, little s**** who are mean for no reason. Regardless, this drawback wasn’t the end of the world. The important thing is, Mika was in school. A place that forced him to be near others. Somewhere that encouraged listening and learning. A place with, *drumroll*...”Libraries. Thankfully, I discovered them when I was really young. Got left in one once. Dad forgot to pick me up, and a janitor found me long after the school closed. Heh, he was worried I was scared. I was glad it happened though. Its when I learned how much I could learn from books. From then on, I was always reading. Dad didn’t mind. Kept me quiet and indoors.”


[break][break]


There were times when school just wasn’t possible. Times when his father’s bad feeling wouldn't back off. If it weren’t for the knowledge contained in books, Mika’s intellectual development would have suffered. Yet, he thrived through this adversity. A self educated exception. ”Getting books was a problem sometimes. I ended up taking books when I could. Public or school libraries. Even if I wasn’t enrolled. I remember just walking in, and walking out with an armful. No one ever questioned kid. Never really returning them. Kinda made my own library over the years. When dad found out about it...he got rather mad.” Mika learned his first lesson in responsibility because of his collection. The first time his father had to teach him right from wrong. Punish him for his crimes. Thankfully, he saw it as more risky to take the books back than keeping them. ”I think he started worrying about my development as much as my safety around then. From then on, he always made sure our next home would have a school for me to go to. Heh, I was nearly a normal student for a few good years. Got really close to graduating. Until…”


[break][break]


The exact cause of his father’s disappearance was never uncovered. They had been in the same town for almost three years. An unprecedented amount of time at that point. Mika was in his final year of secondary school. His father had taken a good office job for the first time in nearly two decades. They were even in an apartment. No more hotel permenant parties. Something had been done wrong though. Mika was of course...left in the dark. ”I always wondered why he didn’t come home that night. I didn’t sleep for days. Waiting for him to find his way back.” Mika’s voice, shaking. ”I couldn’t do...anything. I was told to never go to the police. I still did. I di...I didn’t know what to tell them.” His thin fingers squeezing the color out of each other. Hands jittering in a rapid...anxious manner. ”They wanted information. Asked me questions. And...and I couldn’t answer them.” His face cracking; lips quivering. Frowning. ”His name and mine. Where were we from. Our record information. Where was my mother. The rest of my family.” Eyes shuddering. Holding back the growing tears. ”The way they looked at me when I couldn’t answer. I was either a liar or a freak to any who heard me talk. They just stared at me.” Mika ran from the police station. A week had passed by then, and he knew no one was coming back for him. He knew he was alone. So he gathered up everything that he could carry. Everything his father left behind. Leaving behind what had been his longest home. Hurting from the memories. Hoping to discover something new.


[break][break]


[li]Horizon[/li]
I enjoy telling this story. The story of Mika. I know it often comes off as sad, or even tragic. Sometimes though...life just looks that way. It is easier to focus on the pain, than the joy. That’s why I enjoy his story so much; because he does show the joy. You just have to make it to the end. You just have to see the scared, little boy’s face when he’s all grown up. The way he smiles, even though there is hurt. The way he continues to dream, even if he’s hd his fair share of nightmares. In the end, that is what I hope for us all. That despite our troubles, we can live.


Here is where the road truly begins. Whether Mika knows it or not, everything till now has been a footnote in an amazing life. So tighten up your laces, kiddos. It's time to hit the road...
[/ul]


[break][break]


[/div]









[/div]






[/div][/div]