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i.
Everything around her is new to her. The only thing that gives her comfort are the familiar winds; the same that have brought her to a different and distant land. And because she is young and lost, she takes comfort in the first people she meets. Two adults, ready to welcome her in, and two young girls who appear to be the same age as her.
One girl, a short haired brunette with sparkling green eyes, introduces herself as Risu. The other brunette, with sleepy purple eyes that slowly blink at her, introduces herself as Anya. She would introduce herself in kind but she can’t even remember her name. It baffles everyone but the adults, who kneel down to her height and give her their names — Iofi and Moona, are kind and tell her to rest. The winds are strong and unkind to those that linger.
And so she joins them and enters their home.
ii.
She and Risu learn how to sing. They have lessons with Moona while Iofi and Anya do menial chores around the home. It’s during these lessons that she learns that Risu and Anya are like her. A lost child brought to Iofi and Moona through a way or another. Risu wandered into their home from the nearby forest. Anya seemed to appear out of nowhere with nothing on her small person but an ornate dagger. And now her, arriving on their doorstep with only strong winds as her harbinger.
It’s after her singing lessons that she explores her new home. And one day, she follows Anya. The smaller girl doesn’t seem to notice her as she walks with purpose towards the woods nearby. It worries her but when she sees how unphased Anya is, she tries to keep pace. She pushes through a flower bush and gapes at the large tree before her eyes. It stands tall and covers the sky. And by its roots is a blanket with boxes of different sizes scattered around. There are a number of things in the boxes from books to writing utensils and even a tea set. Her eyes are wide and she sees Anya, rummaging through one box and pulling out a book.
“What’s that?”
Anya jumps and turns to her with wide eyes. She has a hand on the dagger around her hip but Anya lets go when she sees her.
“Oh. It’s you.”
And Anya sits back down. And so she sits beside her.
“Do you want to read together?”
iii.
Day after day, she and Anya go back to the tree. To their hideaway. Risu asks them about it but when she sees Anya doesn’t answer her and shy away, she decides to do the same. It becomes their own secret. It makes her heart race and her lips pull into a wide smile.
And when she wakes up from an impromptu nap with Anya curled by her side she thinks she’s found happiness.
iv.
They decide to name the tree. It’s become their tree so it only feels right to name it. Anya is reading through books — dictionaries — and looking for names. She’s waiting, patiently to the side, a paintbrush in hand and a small plank of wood Anya managed to pilfer from Iofi’s supplies on her lap.
“I found it.”
Anya whispers the name to her and her eyes widen. It sounds perfect.
And so, with a hand shaky from concentration and Anya’s encouragement, she paints the name of their beloved tree onto the wood. Anya nods her head, a smile on her face, before she picks up the wood and takes a wooden hammer and knocks the plank of wood by the roots of the tree.
They smile at their handiwork.
‘Reine’
v.
Anya tells her that the name means “pure of heart” in one of the books she read. She thinks it’s perfect.
vi.
A strong gale blows in during the day. They cannot go to their hideaway. It leaves her saddened for most of the day but when Anya holds her hand and says that, tomorrow, they’ll go for sure, her spirits lift and she goes to sleep with a smile on her face.
Except Risu wakes her in the middle of the night and says that Anya ran off. She’s confused until she hears the crash of thunder and sees a flash of lightning out the window.
“Look!”
Risu brings her to the window and they see Anya running. She knows where Anya is going. She wants to follow but Moona stops her. Iofi is already running for Anya. She can only watch as lightning flashes through the sky before a mighty strike blinds them. When she can see again, the mighty tree is no longer standing high and Iofi is carrying Anya in her arms as she runs back towards their home.
And then a week passes. The tree is gone, nothing but a stump left in its place. Anya goes and visits the stump every day. She would too but lessons keep her away for too long. But she accepts it. She learns a few more songs and her voice grows stronger with each note. She wants to be like Moona, a diva who can move people with a single song. She tries hard and practices. For Moona and Iofi, for Risu, for Anya, for herself. Once she’s satisfied she looks for Anya after her lessons.
“Come with me.”
And they return to the stump.
Anya looks despondent. She takes in a breath as she fixes her hair, ties one side, and stands on the tree stump. With sparkling green eyes and silver hair blowing in the wind she grins down at Anya before she begins to sing. It’s a lullaby. Something to calm the soul and ease the heart.
God won’t turn back the hands of the clock for us, but,
so that the dreams that are still in those hands aren’t let go.
Someday, when that day that flowers are made to bloom on stage comes,
With this name, let me sing.
And so Reine steps down from the stump. Their promises sealed in their intertwined fingers.
VII.
And now, a year after her formal debut, Reine is to sing on the eve of her anniversary. The nerves are alight in her body but she takes a peek from behind the curtain. Risu and Kobo are by the bar, where Anya stands behind preparing drinks for the patrons, as Iofi and Moona mingle with guests. She sees Zeta and Kaela enter the bar and greet the owner and former diva. If Reine squints, she can see Olivia — Ollie in yet another disguise to hide her royal presence.
Reine steps away from the curtains. All of her friends and loved ones are present. She takes a deep breath. Her hands smooth over her dress, one that is bright and bedazzled as is fitting for Bar Masquerade’s diva, before she swipes at her bangs. Her hair falls in waves behind her, her signature side ponytail tight and pristine.
“Are you ready?”
Reine turns to Emu and, with another breath, nods her head. The curtains rise and Moona’s voice can be heard from the stage announcing her entrance.
Reine’s eyes sweep over Bar Masquerade, landing on each person she knows by heart. Anya’s eyes meet hers and the bartender smiles. Fleeting but expressive. It makes her heart race and her lips pull into a wide smile.
Moona’s voice pulls her back to the moment.
“Be prepared for Reine’s Illusion Night.”
VIII.
And the music swells as the spotlight lands on her and applause echoes around her.
And once the crowd disperses all that's left is Anya. Reine watches and waits as Anya walks to her, the bartender's hands behind her. In the dark of the bar she sees it; a rose petal falls in the shadow of Anya's steps.
“These are for you.”
A bountiful bouquet of roses as red as her cheeks.
“You did it.”
Anya's eyes are bright and twinkling, no trace of the sleepiness Reine knows in her heart.
“You became a diva who made the flowers bloom on stage.”