Chapter 2

The sound of a piano playing made her heart almost skip a beat. It brought back so many memories that she longed to remember and forget. The good was intertwined with the bad which made her hate them at times. If she could change it would she? She could change her future because of how much her father preached about it.

As if on instinct a face that was too familiar for her that she could practically smell his cologne appeared in her mind. It was the one thing she wanted to get rid of the most. It was the part of her past that she longed to get rid of so she could feel like the person she used to be.

Sitting up in bed her gaze took in the darkened room on instinct. There had been too many times she woke up with him staring down at her or touching her when she didn't want it. Even the thought of the act made her skin crawl to the point she wanted to wash her body until it was raw.

How many times had she done that to herself until the water ran cold? How many excuses did she make just to cover up the fact that she hated the body she was in? Too many.

Taking in a shaky breath her hand fell to her stomach and lightly patted it. It was a calming gesture to get her back into the right state of mind. It was one of the few things she had left to keep her sane practically. If not, then she probably would have lost her mind ages ago from everything.

"You didn't wake me up tonight?" She whispered softly to nothingness, but she knew what the answer would be. A soft coo would answer her if not silent as the future child of hers slept near her. "I'm thankful. You making me sick isn't that fun. I hope you know that."

It wasn't like she wanted to wind up pregnant, but it was something that she couldn't change. Everything changed after that night and even then, she wasn't sure if she was going to keep the child. She would be a single mother which was frowned upon and to raise someone that needed her attention constantly scared her. Being motherly wasn't something she didn't think she could do.

A crow off in the distance drew her mind away from her darkening thoughts, causing her to frown. Every morning it was the same thing but in different places. She would get her hands on that bird even if it meant trespassing onto someone else's property. It was one of things that she never would get used to since moving to a different country or setting.

Slowly as if she was afraid to wake up a slumbering giant she crawled out of bed. It wasn't like she was going to fall back asleep which she admitted she got from her father. There were times she was convinced that man never slept with how often she seen him awake. The only rare time she would see him sleep was when he was under the weather or exhaustion finally caught up to him.

She went into the kitchen and glanced out the window. Part of her was waiting to see his face again but thankfully all she saw was the slowly rising sun. It was definitely something she would not witness if she was still home. It was nice but there was one thing that puzzled her.

Leaning against the counter some more as she narrowed her eyes, she swore she saw lights on in a house that sat abandoned for months on end. People in the small village said that the family that lived there was mostly gone except for one but they didn't know where he gone. If he said where he was going then none of them knew or she hadn't asked the right person yet.

Either way the house was quaint and adorable. Perfect for someone starting out or even a small family to live in. It was the chateau style that reminded her of all those foreign movies that she saw growing up that her father took her to. Whoever used to live there must have loved flowers because it was almost covered in the floral.

After a quick bite to eat and hoping that it would settle with her growing little one, she stepped outside. It seemed indecent since she was still in her sleeping clothes. Did she care about what others thought about her apparel? Not really because her self-image had already been tainted. It wasn't like she had any left. If she did then she couldn't find it.

"Aria, good morning child." An elderly woman's voice interrupted her thoughts which caused her to jump.

A quick glance with her sea green eyes she noticed who it was. She was the first person to make her feel welcomed in this village and gave her a place to stay. If it hadn't been for her wanting to move in with her son and his family then Aria would be on the streets still.

"Good morning Madam." She chimed with a small wave. "Isn't it a little early for you to be out and about? Wouldn't someone get worried about you?"

"Nonsense." The woman waved a hand as she chuckled. "They know me well enough. If I wanted to run away, I would have done that ages ago."

Run away. Oh yeah. That's what I did. She had to run away from her problems or else the outcome wouldn't be what she wanted.

"Anyway child. Are you settling in alright? Is old man Harold still being a stinker towards you?"

She knew she should have resisted the urge, but she couldn't. She had to roll her eyes at the mentioning of another elderly person that lived in the village. He acted like he knew her secret right from the first glance, so he always treated her differently from the other citizens. So anytime she saw that man she would walk the other way if not find another way to get to her destination.

"We will not go on him. I rather keep my good mood for as long as I can." Aria commented as she looked toward the sky.

The once darkened canvas was now getting painted with bright colors of reds and oranges. It just meant that her day was going to be a long one which she didn't mind. It meant that her thoughts were going to be busy with whatever the day was going to bring.

"Fair enough child."

"Um. . . Madam Elizabeth I do have a question for you." She quickly rattled off since her mind wouldn't get off the house that was off in the distance. It just seemed so out of place that it was lit up when she was used to it being dark. "That house over there? I-I thought that no one was living there anymore."

A gray eyebrow rose as she looked around. House that no one was living in anymore? Did she mean the Polnareff household? Her gaze danced around the slowly lightening landscape and fell onto the house that Aria must have been talking about. It was the only house that she could come up with that people was convinced was abandoned. "Oh, that house? Well, Lea's son must be back on that important trip. It's either that or some of their distant relatives came to clean the house out."

Lea? That wasn't a name she heard get mentioned around here before. But should she pry? It wasn't like she knew everyone in town like the rest of the people. But would it be something she should do? If someone were nosing into her business like she was about to she wouldn't appreciate it when she finds out. It didn't help either that her curiosity was getting to be something else.

"Lea?" She asked quietly as she turned her attention to the elderly woman.

A soft nod answered her along with a smile. It wasn't one of those smiles that spoke of happiness or anything of the sort. It said that there was something she didn't want to know. It had to be dark, but could it be darker than her own past? It wasn't like she was trying to compare the two, but she was opening a can of worms that could end in two ways.

"Yes, Lea Polnareff. She was a single mother that lived here at one time. She had her two kids and that seemed to be the only thing she needed." She started off as her aging eyes turned to the house that was mentioned. "Let's just say that some things happened, and her son went off somewhere. He was a sweet boy that loved to get into trouble growing up. I hope that it's him and not someone else. I rather see that smiling face than some stranger's after him being gone for so long."

Single mother. The two words floated around in her mind until she could feel her body losing control of itself. She felt like she was running a fever suddenly as her mind started to race at the possibilities. Could she provide for her child? Could she give them up to complete strangers? Would this child be in good hands if she did? What kind of mother would she be like?

The all too familiar feeling of saliva building up in her mouth told her what was going to happen. It was one thing she wanted to disappear but also told her that she was still carrying this child. "I-I'm so sorry Madam―"

She couldn't even finish her sentence before she took off running behind some bushes. She spoke too soon about the morning sickness. Thanks to it she was going to have to apologize to Madam Elizabeth for running off like she had. It also meant that today was going to be a long day especially when she had to work her shift at the flower shop.

So how was it? Thank you to everyone that has favorited/followed because those mean a lot to me. As for the piano tune I can't help but listen to the instrumental music from Howl's Moving Castle.