Song name: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird.

They were peas in a pod, she thought to herself as she tidied up the living room. Marco had been hiding in his room for days now, and she'd been throwing his food into the bin, thinking to herself how she could possibly… well… cure him.

Why did she hide the fact he was starving himself? It broke her heart to see her son so lost and forlorn. Star had been the burst of energy he needed, but even as she thought about it, she knew they were star-crossed.

Yet a mother can't bear to see her child so sad, no matter how unreasonable it seems.

The bins were taken out in the morning - and for once, Mrs Diaz was sifting through them beforehand. Seeing balls of pink, she pulled it out of the recycling bin and unscrewed it from its untidy shape. Then she began to read the letters.

There was no point in pretending she didn't know about his thoughts on Star. Instead, she brought out a few scrunched up pieces of paper - letters - from Star and made her way up the stairs to his room.

Even as she knocked on the door, she felt herself sigh loudly. The door didn't open on the first go, so she had no choice but to open the door herself. Holding the letters, she stood and glanced over at Marco, who was curled up on his bed.

Surrounding him were boxes and plates of unfinished food, his shoes strewn about the room. The room was dark with the curtains closed and his hoodies and shirts lying on the radiators and window sill.

Eyes closed, he seemed to be humming something under his breath, unaware of her presence. She quietly waited for him to stop, and minutes ticked away on his clock. With the next tick of the clock, he stopped and turned to see his mother.

At first, his eyes narrowed - then he saw the pink, perfumed letters from Star in her hand and the narrowed eyes turned back to sadness. Tearing his eyes away from the letters grudgingly, he looked back at his mother.

"Marco." She quietly says, wading through the plates and takeaway cartons. His room was more of mess than it ever had been. But a mother can't stand to see her son so sad, to the point where it didn't matter to her.

"She's gone." He slopes off his bed and stands in front of his mother. Then he grabs the letter and opens it up, not reading it as his mother stands there wordlessly. Whatever she says is inaudible to him, and it only breaks her heart further.

His phone suddenly rang, and he drops the letter in favour of it - but of course, in his mess of a room, he can't find it. Scrabbling about and dropping more objects on the floor, Mrs Diaz exhales deeply and speaks once more.

"Marco, we need to talk-" She begins, only to be interrupted by a song blaring from his phone. Marco continues looking for his phone, and when he finds it, he blinks wordlessly, as the song begins to play.

If I leave here tomorrow…

Would you still remember me?

For I must be travelling on now…

'Cause there's too many places I've got to see.

He presses something on his phone and the room goes quiet. The song was much to realistic for him to think about.

The silence cuts her like a knife - and is suddenly stopped, by the one, muffled sound coming out of Marco. Mrs Diaz opens her arms and he runs straight to them, his phone still quietly playing the song.

All she can hear is Marco sobbing. And when she looks down at her son, who is enveloped in a hug, she sees his younger self bawling into her arms. Except of course, she knows the situation is more serious.

He could've hurt himself if you did nothing.

Despite her sleeves being wet with his tears, she still pats him on the back and eventually, the tearful hug draws to a close.

'Cause as I'm free as a bird now…

"Marco."

He doesn't say anything, but his eyes seem to shine from tears.

"Read the letter… and just…"

Mrs Diaz, for once, doesn't know what to say. Realise that she's happier? She's sure she'll just send mixed messages to him, or hurt his feelings further. Suddenly, she feels ambiguous and rather confused.

"Do you want me… to… go?" She awkwardly chokes out, pressing the scrunched up letters into his hand.

"No." He suddenly says, "I don't."

The duo sit on the bed, and Marco begins to quietly read them, whilst Mrs Diaz offers him a hand of support.

Dear Marco,
I miss you, but I'm glad that we can still talk. Mom and Dad engaged me to this guy from Sparks, because they say it'll "seal a political alliance between our two lands," but I really just want to be with you again, on Earth. I'd like it better if I could marry you, to be honest. Anyway, write back. I want to hear from you… and just talk to you.

Mrs Diaz smiles, and a ghost of a smile seeps into Marco's face. "She still wants to talk to me…?" Marco stands up and grabs a piece of paper from his desk.

"Read the other letters."

Marco picks up the other letters, and his heart sinks in his chest as he reads them. "Why did I…? I'm such an awful…"

"No. You were sad that you lost your best friend. Her letters didn't mean… anything to you."

"But I didn't." He gabbles.

"No. You haven't lost her at all. So, are you going to write back to her?"

Marco finally grins fully at her.

"Yeah. I am." There's still the twinkle of sadness in his eyes, Mrs Diaz notices, but she knows that it'll wane with time.