By: Leandra Drache DISCLAIMERS: None SPOILERS: None RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Aria Davis' dream since childhood has been to make it into the entertainment industry - music, if possible. However, lately her auditions have been turning into disatrous nightmares. After one such audition, she is miserably shuffling down the halls when she - literally - runs into a boy who tries to help her out. However, there's more to him than meets the eye...
AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: Thanx goes to Eirlys North, Urania, Jory and Hitomi for commeting! Please tell me what you think of this story, thus far at Leandra84@hotmail.com. Any suggestions for a better title would also be
appreciated! :) ENJOY! ***** Aria Davis stared dejectedly at the oak door which, seconds earlier, had been slammed in her face. Well okay, a sympathetic woman had actually closed it gently, but it was still a dead end. She had seen so many lately and struggled not to cry. The interviewers always said they'd called back, but the audition had been terrible. They wouldn't call.
Despondent, Aria shuffled down the hall. She needed someone to talk to, but it would be another hour until her mother came. Finally given a chance to shop in Toronto, Mrs. Davis had seized the day.
Her head bowed in disappointment and hurt, Aria didn’t notice the boy until she ran into him. "Ooof!" "Oh, sorry," Aria mumbled, not bothering to look up and sidestepped around him. "Why so glum?" His voice truly hit her in the middle of her shrug. She KNEW it, yet she couldn’t have heard it before. The tone and timbre weren’t familiar to her consciousness but her subconscious. Still, for the life of her, she couldn’t place it.
Shocked by his voice, Aria spun on her heel towards him. It was supposed to be a smooth move. However, as she began her spin, Aria remembered with a sinking heart that she was wearing platform sandals, and, of course, they didn’t spin very well. However, though the shoe didn’t spin, the foot in it did and halfway through her maneuver, Aria toppled to one side, arms pin wheeling madly while one of her sandals flew off her foot, towards the gaping boy.
Oh dear, she thought, half her mind calculating the velocity of the shoe using D/S=T. The other half was irrelevantly registering just how handsome the boy before her was.
Suddenly, Aria noticed that she was no longer falling. Huh? This was an interesting revelation. "Want to get a drink?" Aria jumped. The boy’s disturbing voice had been shockingly close to her ear. Slowly, she began to register his arms around her, his breath on the back of her neck... "Um, what?"
"Do you want to get a drink?" Aria stared blankly up at him for a moment, then admitted, "Well, yes, but--" "Then let’s go!" and he pulled her to her feet effortlessly. Now, Aria was a little concerned. "B-but.." she sputtered. "I don’t even know your name!"
That stopped the boy in his tracks. He blinked down at her, once, twice, as if that was the most startling question he’d ever heard. "Uh...Az....Azriel Freund," he replied hesitantly after a pause, seeming to marvel at the sound of it
To associate with someone who couldn’t even remember his own name was not the smartest thing Aria had ever done, but there was something about his dark, dark eyes... She hadn’t noticed them before and now couldn’t look away.
"Well, Azriel Freund, I’m Aria Davis," and she stuck her hand out for him to shake. With every second, his composure had been collecting. Now, there was no trace of uncertainty as he took her hand, shook it, and without letting go, began leading her down the hall.
"Hey! Where’re we going?" Aria demanded. Now that his eyes weren’t staring down at hers, it was like some spell had been broken and she was growing worried again.
Azriel turned with a lop-sided grin spread across his features. "Don’t you trust me?" he asked, arching a brow. "No, not—" she began, then stopped because she realized that would be lying. Although she had known him for mere minutes, she DID trust him. Silently, she nodded, too affected by her cognizance to speak.
Perhaps two minutes later, Aria found herself in the lobby of the Princess of Wales Theater. She was mildly surprised and commented, "I thought we were going somewhere…further."
Azriel shrugged. "Why do that when you can stay here and get the same thing?" "But you CAN’T get anything here! The show ended an hour ago! Everything’s closed!"
His eyes sparkled as he wagged a finger before her eyes. "Not everything." "Uh-huh. And what’s left?" Azriel led her over to the far corner of the room. There, half-hidden behind a huge potted fern, a vender stood behind his counter, wiping it off.
He was a tall African-Canadian, maybe 20 years old. His curly black hair was cut short and when he looked up at them, his coffee-brown eyes lit up with recognition. Aria found this strange - she was sure she had never met him before, for she would have remembered - but didn’t question it.
A wide grin spread across his face. As they approached, he asked amicably, "How can I help you?" Aria, frankly, was obviously too startled to answer, so Azriel replied, "Well, I’d like a Coca-Cola. As for the pretty lady…what’ll it be, Aria?"
"Um…iced tea, I guess." The boy winked at them and said, "Coke and iced tea, coming right up." His laughing baritone voice carried a hint of Africa in it, a welcome change from the flat blandness of most Canadians. Aria found herself instinctively liking him.
As he handed over the drinks, the boy leaned an elbow against the counter and said to Azriel, "So, Az, picked up another beauty, I see." He winked at Aria. "Are you going to introduce us?"
Turning red, Azriel said, "Aria, this is Jelani Diallo. J, this is Aria Davis. And I did NOT pick her up." "That’s what YOU say. What’s your take, Aria?"
Despite his obvious flirting, Aria got the disconcerting impression that Jelani had eyes for Azriel, rather than her. She didn’t think much about that though. Instead, she answered him with a question. "How do you two know each other – "
"Me and Az?" Jelani repeated. "Oh, we go WAY back!" "And what are you doing here after hours anyway?" she finished, suddenly realizing that no matter how friendly they were, she was still alone with two strange guys.
"What? Az didn’t tell you?" Jelani exclaimed – his voice was built for exclaiming – before Azriel could answer. "Shame on you, Az!" Then he leaned towards Aria and stage whispered, "The truth is that Azriel here is the nephew of Mr. Samuel Blake. And Mr. Blake, as we all know, is the owner of this theater."
Aria blinked once, twice, at this revelation. "You mean…" "Yup," Jelani confirmed. "What’s better is that he’s usually one of the interviewers. Of the auditioners for the musical, I mean. I assume that you’re one of them."
She just nodded, staring accusingly at Azriel who, in turn, glared murderously at Jelani. Finally, Aria pointed out, "But you weren’t there today! Why?" She was surprised to find herself upset over this. Perhaps the audition would have gone better, she thought, although she knew it probably would have been worse. She had always been awkward around boys, especially cute ones.
Azriel managed to pull his glare away from Jelani and blinked a little at Aria. "Why wasn’t I…" he began absently, then registered what she had said. "Oh! Why wasn’t I there? I was, um…see…there was this thing and, well it was this thing…"
"Uh-huh." "No, I’m serious. I…had a doctor’s appointment. Right. A doctor’s appointment. You see, I wasn’t feeling so great this morning. I had this pounding headache and I was throwing up all over the place, so I booked an appointment. I would have changed the time, but I was told the audition was at 5, not 4, so I was just arriving when I bumped into you."
Aria still looked at him incredulously. Was he to be believed? She didn’t know, but her audition HAD been pushed ahead an hour at the last minute. And she did remember her earlier feeling of trust…
"Don’t you believe me?" Azriel asked with what seemed like genuine hurt on his face. When he looked that way, Aria couldn’t repudiate. "Of course. That makes perfect sense."
Relief flooded across Azriel’s face just as Jelani said, "I’m sure Az missed a great show. You’ll probably get a call back right away."
Aria smiled ruefully at that. "I don’t think so. The audition was awful. I forgot the words to the song and I was stiff and unfriendly and –"
"Whoa, whoa, girl! Calm down!" Jelani said. "It’s okay. I mean, you forgot the words? That’s fine! You were auditioning for chorus member right? Well, this is The Lion King – you don’t even sing in English! They’ll never know."
Aria stared cynically up at him. "Nice try, Jelani –" "Call me, J." "Okay, J - but it was bad. I know. All I’ve had are bad auditions lately."
When Azriel asked what she meant, Aria proceeded to explain how she had blundered in the talent search, screwed up with the talent agent and now, killed her Lion King audition.
"I don’t know why I always mess up. No, actually, I know it’s because I’m really nervous, but I don’t know how to fix it," she finished.
Azriel smiled knowingly. "I've seen this before. Don't worry Aria, I know exactly how to help you." "Really?" she said, brightening. "How?"
"Well, all you need -" he began when Jelani suddenly interrupted, "Oh, look, I think your mother's here, Ari." Just then, a small, plump woman with short light brown hair walked through the door. Catching sight of her daughter, Mrs. Davis waved and beckoned for Aria to get going.
"Coming, Mama!" Aria called, then turned back to the guys with indecision etched on her face. "You were saying, Azriel?"
Again, Jelani answered for his friend. "You're mother's waiting, Ari. How 'bout we get together some other time and work on your interview skills?"
"Uh…" Aria began, unsure if this was a good idea. They WERE strangers. "Aria! We have to leave now!" That decided it. She didn't know them, but they seemed to know what they were about. Besides, she trusted them - or Azriel, in any case - and wanted to get to know them better. "Okay, sure. But when? And where? I mean, I don't live in Toronto."
Jelani shrugged, unfazed. "You live in Cambridge, right? Just give us your number. We'll call and set up a time and place," he promised with a smile.
Seconds later, Aria was bounding after her mother. As their black Corolla began inching down the street, a thought nagged at her. Jelani had said something… With a start, she realized what it was.
At the same moment, Mrs. Davis turned to her daughter with a frown. "Who were those boys you were talking to, dear?" She tried to sound neutral but clearly disapproved.
Tell her, her conscience said. You have to. After what Jelani said, it’s not safe to lie about them. Right?
However, when she opened her mouth to reply, she heard herself answer, "Oh, just some guys who were auditioning, too."
"Oh, that's great, dear," Mrs. Davis sighed with relief. "By the way, how was it?" Distractedly, Aria told her mother about her disastrous audition. The words came automatically; inside, she was trying to puzzle out a bigger problem. Jelani Diallo had known where she lived and she had never told him.
************* "Aria! Phone call, honey!" Automatically, Aria reached for the phone on her desk. It had been almost a week since The Lion King audition and Jelani hadn’t called. Surely he would have by now.
"Hello?" "Hey Aria! It’s Azriel." A surprised squeak burst forth before she could help it. Immediately, she went to hang up the phone, but hesitated when she heard Azriel asking her to hear him out.
Shakily, Aria replaced the receiver by her ear. "W-what do you want?" "I was calling to see if you could meet us tomorrow at Jelani’s house. It’s 279 Glen Road in Hamilton. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. Is that why you screamed at me?"
The real distress in his voice made Aria smile despite herself. "No, sorry. I was just a little...worried." "Why?" "Jelani knew where I lived last week and I never told him."
There was silence on the other end, then, "Are you sure you never said? I thought you did." Before, Aria HAD been sure. But Azriel made her doubt. It was almost like he had a spell over her, which was ridiculous! "Well, I guess I might have," she admitted.
"I’m sure that was it, Ari. Don’t worry," he reassured her. "Now, is tomorrow okay?" "Uh, sure. But when? And how am I going to get there?"
"I don’t suppose you could ask your mom?" The thought of asking her mom for a ride to Hamilton to meet two strange guys almost made her laugh aloud. Aria doubted she’d even tell the truth about where she was going! "No, that’s not possible."
Azriel thought for a moment, then suggested, "I could pick you up at 3." Then, he added hastily, "I’ll get you back by 8, I promise."
That was most of the day and she had a biology test the following Monday! Aria didn’t even hesitate. "That’d be great! But could we meet at the Library instead?"
"Sure." After giving him the directions, Aria hung up and went down to the living room. Now that the plans were made, she had to figure out what to tell her mom.
As Mrs. Davis looked up from her book, Aria smiled and said, "Hi mom! Could I go shopping tomorrow?" ********** "I was lost. I mean, the teacher is going on about WW1 fighter pilots and some guy named Funk -"
Azriel glanced sideways at Aria and corrected, "Oh, that’s René Fonck. He was a French pilot who shot down 75 enemy planes. He was amazing! The next best Frenchman, Georges Nungessen, shot down 53. That’s a 22 plane margin!"
Aria silently stared at him, dumbfounded. "I’m...very interested in WW1 aviation," he explained lamely, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
"Uh-huh." Azriel frowned at her. "You talk about them like you know them, Azriel, like they were your friends," Aria said with astonishment, shaking her head.
Azriel spoke almost inaudibly, "Maybe they were." "Pardon?" However, he didn’t answer and the rest of the trip was made in silence.
************* Jelani’s was an old two-and-a-half story wooden house with white paint and green shutters. It was actually his family’s, Azriel admitted, but they were on vacation for the first two weeks of September. Jelani had suggested they come here instead of the dorm he and Azriel shared since it was closer to Cambridge.
"Aria! How’ve you been?" greeted Jelani as they stepped out of Azriel’s red Accord. "Okay," she answered cautiously. Although she trusted Azriel, Jelani wasn’t included.
Jelani appeared to sense this – to his credit, he seemed more sensitive than most guys – and said, "We can start whenever you want, Aria. Just come in when you’re ready." Then, he returned to the house.
Telling herself she had nothing to fear, she followed him. Inside, the furnishings were quite sparse. A tall grandfather clock stood to one side of the entranceway. Jelani led them past it and into large barren room with oak floorboards. Here he announced, "We begin."
Within ten minutes, he and Azriel had analyzed her entire persona perfectly. She was passionate, but also shy, they said. She longed for stardom, but her self-doubt was deep. The performing arts were her niche, but she had very rarely performed onstage alone. Aria was amazed at their accuracy. When she asked how they knew, Jelani replied, "I was the same way."
Before she had time to ask for specifics, Azriel jumped in. "What you need is instruction on how to overcome your fear of the stage. Your resumé says that you dance, play the piano and were a soloist in the school choir. Can you sing for us?"
Aria’s chest filled with dread. Sing for them? They were crazy! What if her voice cracked? Besides, what would she sing?
As if reading her thoughts, Azriel said gently, "It’s just us, Ari, don’t worry if you mess up. Sing whatever." Tentatively, she hazarded the first notes of I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables. On the sixth note, her voice cracked and she winced, stopping. However, Azriel’s supportive smile convinced her to continue. By the time she reached, "But the tigers come at night, with their voices soft as thunder," her voice was strong and clear and she coasted through the low A’s.
Upon her completion, Azriel complimented, "That was great, Ari! But I always thought you were a soprano." "I am." "Oh?" Unchecked surprise showed in Azriel’s expression. "Those were low notes for a soprano! What’s your range?"
"Two octaves, from F to F." This time, even Jelani was impressed. "Az, we’ve found a diamond in the rough," he said to his friend, then turned to Aria. "We’ll get you in shape, girl, don’t worry.
"Now, first, let’s start off easy. Just pretend that we’re the interviewers and you’ve made the second-to-last cut for…Phantom of the Opera. Do you know Think of Me? Sing it."
Without the music, it was hard to get in tune; but after that, Aria got her nerves under control and sang well. She was surprised to find she wasn’t very nervous.
When she finished, Azriel and Jelani suggested where she could improve, then had her dance a few routines. They did a few more activities designed to hone her performance skills and before she knew it, it was time to go home.
"Before you go, Aria, we have a surprise for you," Azriel said. "Yes?" "Next Tuesday, you’ve been called back to audition for The Lion King," he announced, beaming proudly.
Aria’s eyes widened. "You’re kidding!" she gasped. When Azriel shook his head, she let out a joyous shout and promptly hugged him. "Thank you!"
Azriel laughed. "Don’t thank me! You did it yourself!" Still, she beamed up at him like he was an angel of God. Jelani, who had been watching this wryly, now spoke. "You’ll be back tomorrow? We need to get you ready!"
"Ready? For what? I have school tomorrow! I can’t come!" Cool as ever, he replied nonchalantly, "We’ll hold a concert on Friday at my friend, Daniel Clark’s house, in Cambridge. You’ll meet us there tomorrow to practice." Before Aria could protest, he added, "You need the experience! Azriel can pick you up from school."
Dazed, Aria nodded and followed Azriel out. ************ As Azriel drove her home that night, Aria stared up at the night sky. The moon was a thin golden crescent in a sea of navy blue and she marveled at its beauty, being able to see it for once in the dim light of Hwy. 8. Her shock over Jelani’s announcement had faded and she finally broke the silence in the car, asking, "Do you ever wonder what’s up there? What Heaven might be like?"
Azriel muttered something under his breath, which sounded like, "I don’t wonder, I know." "Pardon?" Aria felt a flash of déja-vu. Hadn’t she said the same thing earlier that day? This time, however, Azriel actually answered.
"Oh, I said, yeah, sure." "Well, what do you think it’s like?" Azriel glanced over at her, then focused back on the road and shrugged. "I suppose it’d be quite like it is down here. You just don’t have to worry about money and bad politicians." Then he added under his breath, "And there might be a few promiscuous homosexuals named Jelani trying to get in your pants."
A grin broke across Aria's face. "Azriel!" she scolded playfully, punching him lightly on the arm. "Hey! Watch it!" he cried indignantly, but a smile played on the side of his lips. "I'm driving here!"
"What do you think, really?" Aria asked, serious now. Her gray-eyed gaze was earnest, expectant. Azriel was quiet for a long time. Just when Aria was sure he wouldn't answer, he replied, "Heaven's what you make of it, Ari, like Earth. You don't always get along with your neighbours, your friends, but in the end, everything works out all right. The latter's what differentiates it from Earth. For the most part, Heaven is shaped into the world you want it to be, what it is to you."
"You sound so sure of yourself." Again, he shrugged. Aria sat back, considering his words. She had never thought of it that way. To her, Heaven was filled with streets of candy and little cherubs with wings who were perpetually strumming their harps. Of course, according to Azriel, if she wanted Heaven to be that way, it would be. At least, that was what she had gotten out of his explanation. Then again, hadn’t he said something about promiscuous homosexuals?
With a giggle, Aria turned back to her stars. ************* The next few days flew by in a blur. They practiced at Daniel’s house daily and Azriel surprised her by playing the piano amazingly well. Hurriedly, they chose 3 songs, I Dreamed a Dream, Think of Me, and Amarilli, mia bella, an Italian song.
Befoe she knew it, Friday night had rolled around and Aria was being bused by Azriel to Daniel’s for the concert. The street was devoid of cars when they arrived. Good, Aria thought. There won’t be many people to hear me. When she walked in, however, she stopped dead, shocked. A crowd of about 15 people sat in rows in the living room, chatting with each other. Jelani and Daniel, a short, wiry guy with red hair, were conversing in a corner and Azriel waved to get their attention.
Jelani noticed them first and a grin spread across his face. He winked in their direction and Aria assumed it was for her. He then walked over to the red brick fireplace or the "stage" and called for order. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced grandly. "I introduce to you, Aria Davis!"
There was a smattering of applause as Azriel pushed Aria towards the front. Suddenly, there were butterflies in her stomach and she felt faint.
As Azriel played the opening to bars to I Dreamed a Dream, Aria scanned the faces before her. They smiled up at her supportively, but they were foreign. Frozen, she missed her entry.
With hardly a glitch, Azriel repeated the introduction and accented her entry note. Still, she did not sing. Thinking quickly, Jelani cleared his throat and said, "Oh, I’m silly! I was supposed to be her opening act! Azriel, could you play Twinkle, Twinkle?"
Obediently, Azriel played the song, all the while looking at his friend in a worried manner. Jelani, who couldn’t carry a tune to save his life, belted out the ditty for all he was worth. By the end, no one was still sober; even Azriel stopped playing to wipe the tears from his eyes.
Dignified until the end, Jelani promptly nodded to Aria, "At your leisure, fair lady." As the giggles faded into smiles, Azriel began the piece a third time and this time, Aria didn’t miss her entry. After Jelani’s icebreaker, she felt energized and in 15 minutes, all her songs had been performed, more or less perfectly.
Everyone milled up to the front to congratulate her and Aria floated out the door on Cloud 9. "Azriel…wow! I’ve never felt that good about performing before!"
He smiled back warmly. "You were amazing, Ari. They’re holding a party now. Want to come?" Aria bit her lip. She would love to stay, but her mother thought she had just gone for a walk. "Thanks, but I should get home soon."
"Sure. I’ll drive you." "Okay." On the way home, Aria continued to gush about the mini-concert. When they arrived at her house, on impulse, she bent over and kissed Azriel on the cheek. Blushing, she leaped out of the car and mumbled, "Thanks for the ride," before running inside.
Looking after her, Azriel touched his cheek. It had been so long since a living person had kissed him; he liked it. That worried him greatly.
************* Tuesday snuck up on them like a panther. The guests at the concert had given Aria some constructive criticism and she worked, with the help of Jelani and Azriel, to put it to use.
Although her mother didn’t know about Azriel and Jelani, she obviously knew about the audition and drove her daughter back to the Princess of Wales Theater.
Aria met Jelani and Azriel outside the audition room. Her’s was the last of the day and she was alone with them, having told her mother she would be okay by herself.
"So, how d’you feel, Ari?" She turned to Jelani and just gave him a Look, not bothering to answer. Azriel laughed and stepped towards her. "They’ll be calling you in soon. Don’t worry, you’ve nothing to fear and we’ll be here rooting for you!"
Aria suffered a moment of confusion. "Aren’t you interviewing?" "Huh?" The blank look on Azriel’s face said everything. "You lied to me!" Aria cried, enraged and dismayed. "How could you? God, who ARE you?"
Azriel turned to Jelani in supplication, but at that moment, the door beside them opened. A tall, strikingly beautiful Latina walked out and a woman dressed in a golden-brown pants suit called, "Aria Davis?"
Aria shot Azriel a Look that said, "We’ll talk later," before following the woman into the room. ************* When she came out of the audition room, Aria was still livid from her anger at the guys. Fortunately, during the audition, she had been able to convert that animosity to enthusiasm. Her songs had been sung with energy and confidence, her dance numbers full of concentrated grace. The interviewers had set up a final audition right away.
Still, now the audition was over and her anger returned. They better have a good excuse—she was thinking, before she realized they had disappeared.
Perplexed, Aria stopped and scanned the halls to her left and right. Huh? Finally, she spotted a hastily scribbled note on one of the orange chairs lining the hall. As she drew closer, she saw her name on it.
Dear Aria— I am saddened to say that I will not see you again. These 2 weeks I’ve known you have been amazing, but I must return from whence I came.
I’m sure your audition was wonderful and I’m happy for you. Don’t bother looking for me. – Azriel Freund
Shock ran through her veins, then sorrow. Instantaneously, all the rage was forgotten. How could he just leave? Although she hadn’t known him long, she couldn’t imagine life without Azriel now.
For a long time, Aria sat on the chair, staring at the paper in her hands. A tear dropped onto the page and she suddenly realized she was crying. Angrily, she wiped the moisture from her eyes and thought, No. I’ll find you, Azriel. People don’t just disappear.
So, she began her search. In the first few months, Aria looked diligently through the Toronto phone books for Azriel's name. She went so far as to call Mr. Blake, owner of the Princess of Wales Theatre and Azriel’s supposed uncle. He didn’t know of the boy, as she had suspected.
When her search for Azriel proved fruitless, she tried looking for Jelani or Daniel. Their houses were empty and no one had ever heard of them either.
When the casting director of The Lion King called to say she got the part, her joy was short-lived. Azriel had helped her get that role and she still hadn’t found him. There was nothing to celebrate yet.
It was by chance that she stumbled upon Jelani’s obituary. Spring had come, and she had given up her search. The next day was her first Lion King practice and she was in the library, trying to finish an essay.
As Aria read through back issues of the Globe & Mail, looking for references to AIDS in the early 90’s, something caught her eye.
Jelani Diallo, University of Toronto Arts student, has died of AIDS at age 21… Aria caught her breath. Dead? Frantically, she scanned the date of the article. February 7, 1991. How could this be?
Her chest constricted as she got an idea. Azriel had had a great knowledge of WW1 aviation, right? Please don’t be true. DON'T be true. The words repeated, a mantra in her mind, as she scanned the racks for a certain WW1 book. She had seen it before and it listed the names of American and Canadian dead in WW1.
Quickly, Aria leafed through the pages, until she reached Aviation. Frederick…Frost…Freund, Azriel. Killed in action June 26, 1916…
Gasping for breath, Aria shut the book and sped from the library. As she blindly raced down the street, she ran into a boy with such force that she fell to the sidewalk.
Gently, he took her hand and helped her up. "Sorry," Aria mumbled, head bowed the whole time to hide her tears.
His voice was warm and so familiar as he replied, "No problem, Ari." Then, he went on his way again. With a sharp intake of breath, Aria looked after him. She thought she saw the top of a dark head, but it was soon lost in the crowd. Disappointed, she turned around again. It couldn't have been him, could it?
Just then, she felt something hard in her palm. The boy must have put it there when he helped her up. Trying to calm her breathing, Aria slowly opened her hand.
Inside, a small figure dangled on a silver chain. It was a guardian angel.
THE END * * * * * |