"Aria, Hurry up, we are going to be late!" My mother called up the stairs.

"Coming, Mama!" I shouted back, as I slipped the diamond earring into my left ear, and gave my face some final touch ups before heading down the stairs to meet my parents for church.

"Are you ready, my angel?" My father asked as he gave my cheek a peck.

"Yes, papa! Shall we go?"

We stepped out of the large archway of our, as I call it, gingerbread style house, and started toward the car. I climbed into the back seat, which might I add, was all to my self, the way I liked it. I never really enjoyed church the way mama or papa did, I just thought that it was a nice place for me to organize my thoughts once a week. Today, I started thinking of how my situation had changed these four years, since i was twelve years old. I haven't sung at all in at least two years and was slowly dieing inside, which i managed to hide well, since mama or papa hadn't noticed that every night i spent it crying myself to sleep. Since papa's speech to me about "The Man", i sang scarcely at all, but just enough to keep me sane, but after a while, I noticed that mama was happier when i wasn't singing. I couldn't bare to see her so sad, when what I wanted to do when i sang was to make peoples spirits soar, but if i couldn't even do that with my mother, what hope did i have with the rest of the world. I remembered what my father said to me about having my grandmothers voice. Why did he just try to comfort me after scaring me so, and with those lies that would make me want to make my voice soar above anything else. He ruined my dreams, he lied to me, and I wanted nothing to do with him and his talk of "The Man" who stole away my aunt or niece or who ever she was. Truly, I have started to think that that was all a very tale tale that father told me just to explain his lack of a mother and father and mothers absolute hatred and fear of my voice. The last two years, i have stopped singing all together, and speak in short, sharp sentences, when I have the chance, mostly loosing myself into my novels so I could escape the cruel world and its cold lies.

We got to church much earlier than I would have hoped. We settled down in our pew, and while my mama and papa settled down into their silent prayer, i settled into my own thoughts.

When the first chant started, I stood, but did not reach for the book of songs and look for the song, i just closed my eyes and listened to my fathers beautiful gentle, yet forceful tenor booming above all the rest. No matter how much a resented my father for lieing to me about my voice, i could never stop being jealous of his magnificent voice.

At length I felt a rough finger brush something wet from my cheek. I opened my eyes and realized that it was my father brushing a tear from my cheek. He looked into my teary eyes, his eyes asking me "What is the matter my, Angel? Please, don't shut me out again!" It was all i could do not to grab him and have him hold me like when i was younger, but i just looked away. I couldn't succumb to my child needs to be held like a baby once again.

We sat down and the pastor started to drone on through the mass while I lost my self, once again, in my thoughts.

As we started out the doors of the chapel, our pastor, Father Lawrence, stopped us to speak with my father and mother. I stood to the side politely while the Priest continued to speak to my parents about the weather, but before i could loose my self again, one of my mothers friends, Signora Caccietore scampered up to me.

"Oh, Aria, how long I haven't seen you!" She exclaimed, kissing me on both cheeks.

"Good Morning, Signora Caccietore" I said with a tight smile

"That is all I get huh? A good morning? After how long I haven't seen you for, and how pretty you look to! Not like your mother either, or your father!" I couldn't help but cringe a little at the comment.

She was right I knew that. My mother and father both had straight blond hair, where as I had my usual curly heap of brown on my head. My father had nice broad shoulders with thin eyes the colour of almonds, my mother had round eyes coloured blue as the ocean and fairly broad shoulders for a woman of thirty-five. I on the other hand had one of the tiniest bone structures you could ever find on a girl of 15, with thin shoulders and hands, but long and strong fingers; pianist fingers my father once called them. One thing that I have never been able to figure out, though, were my peculiar eyes. They were the shape of almonds and the colour of clovers with a hint of yellowish hazel around the pupil. I've always loved my eyes, even though when ever my mother got the chance to she called the "unnatural". I always expect that i got them from my grandfather or grandmother, but I've never had any proof.

"And you have such beautiful eyes! Where did you get these gems from mia caro?"

Mother came from behind "Oh, do you think they are beautiful? I find them strange and unnatural, amico, but to each their own..." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the car, with father glaring at her back and me rolling my eyes to a comment I have hear multiple times.

The ride started very quite, the calm before the storm.

"Harriet, did you have to undermine our daughter in front of your friend?" Father asked when we were a while along.

"Randalf, I was in no way undermining her, I was simply mentioning that her eyes are unnatural..."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Harriet! She is your daughter, she should be every thing that is ever dear to you and you push her away by telling her that she is unnatural!" He yelled at her, I just sat in the back bowing my head, shoulders crouched in in defeat, because I knew that what my father was saying was true, it just hurt to much to think of it.

"I was simply stating facts! It is unnatural! It all came from your side of the family! Its all your fault! You and your father and mother and that demon!" She screamed, I felt tears dripping down my cheeks.

"Harriet, you say one more word about them and Er-"

"Randalf, watch out!"

It all happened to fast! Father had swerved onto the other side of the road, while another car was coming, we had a head on collision! the car rolled several times before I was flung from the back, through the front window into some bushes on the side of the hill, we had rolled onto. I was flung just before the car had rolled, break neck speed, right into a giant maple tree, crushing the side my mother was in.

I looked in shock at the crumpled heap laying next to the maple, not caring about the gashes all along my arm, covering my light yellow dress in blood. I ran to the car to help my parents out of the car, but stopped where i stood at what I saw.

In the side that had been crushed against the tree, my mother sat, motionless and pale, her eyes staring blankly out the shattered front window, her neck bending at an extremely unnatural angle. My father lay in the drivers side, laying motionless, eyes closed. He must have hit his head on something during the crash because he had blood gushing down from his head, covering his dress coat and coating his blond hair in blood.

I felt tears building up in my "unnatural" eyes. I started to laugh, I couldn't stop laughing, I'll never hear my mother tell me about my eyes ever again, I'll never be able to hear my mother tell me how beautiful I was, not that she ever would but I might have been nice to hear from my mother. And my father, I always pushed him away...I acted as if i never loved him when he put in so much to be the best father that could ever be and i never...and now he's...

I started to scream. I called for help, and for someone to call a hospital or something. I heard something behind me, I turned and saw that my father was moving! I rushed over and pulled him out of the car as he groaned in protest.

"Papa, Papa, I'm here papa!" his eyes started to wonder up, making his eyes flutter open and shut, he didn't have much time left. I started to cry, "Papa, Please look at me Papa please!"

He looked like he had just remembered to tell me something, because he looked at me straight in the face and motioned for me to come closer. With him in my arms, I leaned closer to hear what he had to say.

"Aria, you need to promise me something, I don't have much time left on this earth...but you have to promise me, that if...if there is a man, that you feel a mighty pull toward, like you need to be with him, stay away! Run into the opposite direction! Go Home!"

"But papa why?"

"Don't ask me why! Just do what I tell you! That is my dying wish-"

"Papa don't say that! Don't please your going to live! Please, Please papa...please" I was crying harder that i had in three years. I couldn't think about having my father taken from me so soon.

"Aria, listen to me...please...please...never ever...forget that...I will always be with you.."

"Papa, No!" was all I could manage through sobs.

"Aria...sing me to sleep...please...night is coming...its getting cold."

I stared into his eyes...they were fading fast, and his grip on my hand was loosening. I had to sing to him, and keep the promise, it was his dieing wish.

"There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere. "

I was about to sing the next verse when he joined in.

"There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spa-"

He cringed in pain and looked at me. "I will never leave you."

I don't know how long he layed in my arms, motionless, before someone helped me.