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Aziraphale crossed paths with a lot of people in his endless life; he remembered all of them. Especially one, it was a small girl in a restaurant with her parents, around eight years old, all soft and smiling. Aziraphale was there to have lunch with Crowley. They might have eavesdropped on a bit of curiosity after Aziraphale told Crowley he liked to see children smiling, and Crowley told him that the girl was faking it. Of course, Aziraphale couldn’t believe Crowley. So they eavesdropped like two curious old men, just discreet enough.
Aziraphale clearly remembered that her mother asked the little girl if she was happy to live in a big new house. He had assumed they had moved recently, but he noticed how conflicted the little girl was. But she finally said, "No, I feel like my heart stayed at home.” Her parents corrected her and explained that their previous house was old and not big enough for them. As always, adults’ problems were hard for children to understand. The little girl only saw that she moved from her home to another house that wasn’t her home. Aziraphale found it so strange how someone could be that attached to something in that tiny amount of time, and well, eight years seemed short for immortal beings. But once again, in the end, Crowley was proved right and Aziraphale was wrong.
And now, in that elevator leading him to Heaven, Aziraphale finally understands what the girl meant back then. His heart wasn’t with him anymore; it stayed on Earth. Aziraphale tried to smile, pushing the thought away, but he only felt more empty.
His heart stayed at home, not in the bookshop, even though he loved his place. His home is where Crowley is.
