Yes I know this is an extremely long first post but I promise they won't be this long again.

(Backstory: Milan. 1986. Aurah, age five, her baby sister Wynter, and her parents left their beloved Italy for the States. As the elder daughter, Aurah was always expected to be the example for her younger sibling and show her what it was to be 'grown-up'. The hardest obstacle for the little girl wasn't moving half-way around the world, but leaving behind the carefree world of imagination that came with youth; a world that was embodied in her best friend, Angel Principessa Francesca. Francesca was the most beautiful princess in the world, so beautiful and pure that she couldn't be seen by anyone...well anyone but Aurah. The two met in a beam of sunlight that filtered through a stained glass window during a particularly long and boring evening mass when she was no more than three. Francesca was the one person who Aurah trusted with her secrets and her hopes and dreams. The two danced through the family orchards in the Spring and sang songs on cold, rainy nights in the Fall for two blissful, carefree years. The day they left, Aurah sat for hours with her best friend, saying their tearful goodbyes as her parents insisted that the Principessa couldn't come with them. But Aurah secretly promised to write her as often as she could. What began as letters to an imaginary friend eventually became her private diary that she'd kept faithfully since that day. Yes...that was a long and unnecessary explanation but now you know.)

February 10, 2010: Boston

Principessa,

It seems things have turned quite upside-down for me and all the plans we made when we were little...well it seems you can't plan everything after all. Doug left me. Actually, no. I left Doug. But I had good reason. Not only was he committing sins against me but sins against God, Himself, Francesca! I'm sitting in a hotel now. I've been trying to contact Wynter all night now and I just don't know what to do. I cannot stay here anymore. Not near him. Not after this.

You see, this afternoon I wasn't feeling very well so I left after lunch to come home and rest. And no, it can't be what you're thinking as he still hasn't been able to 'produce'. I think I've found out why though because, you see...when I came in this afternoon there he was...in bed with Eric. Yes, Eric. Not EriKUH. I don't know if I've ever told you about Eric. He is a partner at the law firm. Well it turns out he was more than just Doug's law 'partner'. I won't go into the awful details of what I saw but suffice it to say, it was enough that I can never look at him the same again.

So here I am. I'm going to try to call Wynnie one more time before bed. Tomorrow I'll go pick up my things from the house while he's at work and hopefully Wynnie and Jojo will let me sleep on their couch for a few days until I can figure out what to do from here on out. I just know I don't want to be alone and Wyn's all I have left.

Anyway,

Ciao Francesca!

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March 12, 2010 Haithian

Principessa,

So much has happened in the last month! I've been so busy I just haven't been able to break away for a moment. But as it is I just finished a very nice bath and am taking a moment for myself. Something I haven't done much since I got to Jojo and Wynnie's. Yes, I finally got in touch with her, haha! Alright so this will be a LONG entry because, well, it seems my whole life has spun out of control in the past month and there's a lot to put down on paper. I'm going to have writer's cramp by the time I finish I think.

Okay, so first thing's first. Turns out Wyn and Jo are living in this place called Haithian which has to be some other unknown dead language besides Latin for Hell because that's what the place is. It's like living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Fighting in the streets, drugs, prostitution, the whole nine yards, it's everywhere. It's positively dreadful. But this is where they decided to stay...so this is where I came. And I think it may be the best thing that ever happened to me. Haha! I know. That sounds absolutely insane but I'm going to explain. Francesca, I think God sent me here. I think He put me through all the things I had to go through so that I would be here now because since I've been here everything has led me to the place I am now and I'm so very very happy. You see, I've met someone...but I'm jumping ahead of myself! Let me start at the beginning.

When I got here I was very depressed. I remember sitting in the bar that Jonas 'supposedly' works at (I say supposedly because I've YET to actually see him do a drop of work since I've been in this city, lazy bum) and drank for days. I would drink, talk to the bartenders, drink some more, and go to confession. I met some very nice people in the bar though actually. Nicky was the first one I met. You'd like him. He's very handsome. But a bit of a Don Juan. One particular story comes to mind where I walked into the laundromat on him and some poor girl in a QUITE precarious situation. I was so embarrassed! But he's a good boy I think. Italian so he has to be at least PARTLY good, right? Ha! Let's see...then there was Carol. Carol is a gem. She's a professor at the local University. Turns out there are some awful things going on in her life right now but I am determined to help her. As a matter of fact, her son is now in Roma with Mama and Papa...for a while until we can figure out what to do about her current situation but no one knows that but me and Carol. There's an awful Russian fellow making her do indescribable things and he was threatening to use her son against her. Well now he can't because her son is hidden and safe away from that terrible man and his pretty little lackey. Speaking of...one night they came into the bar when I was sitting with Carol and said either I leave her there with them or I could end up like her. Then the woman grabs me by the hair and pulled me off the stool. I called the police but nothing ever came of it. But, at least Carol was safe in the end...and we're going to get her out of this. I promised her and you know I never break a promise. But to get back on track now!

I ended up procuring a teaching job at the local public school. Oh it's a tiny little ramshackle place with leaky ceilings and a terrible insect problem but the teachers are competent and the children...oh Francesca...the children are the true diamonds of this city and the only hope left for Haithian. So many of the parents have succumbed to the sins that this city seems to have in abundance but the children -are- the future. Like that stupid Whitney Houstan song says. I can only hope to set them on the right path before the evil of this place has a chance to corrupt them completely. Oh! And I guess I've been doing my job well because since I started less than a month ago, I've been asked to become one of their vice principals and the ONLY female vice principal on staff. So as you can see, my professional life has blossomed beyond my imagination and now I feel -truly- empowered to help these kids be all that they can be! I'm so excited for them!

My personal life has been quite...well I'm not sure what the word for it would be but I think it's good. Actually, no, I know it's good. In fact it's amazing. I've been in contact with several men in this city. Some not so good. The first week or so I was here I was attacked in my home by one I just knew was going to rape me and leave me for dead. Well he only left me for dead I guess, and relieved me of my vanity. I still don't understand why a man would come into my home and cut off my hair, strip me, tie me up, choke me unconcious, and then just leave. Maybe he's some crazy fetishist who has a thing for hair, I don't know. But anyway, there's also some very good guys I've met too. Matter of fact, Nicky was the one who found me after the aforementioned hair incident. And then there's Tom. Oh Tom...mmm. I'd bet you've probably seen Tom yourself as he's rather worldly. Thick Irish man with a thick Irish accent. Tom taught me quite a bit about myself actually. That was a bit of a whirlwind. He's the kind of man that makes a woman feel feminine and fragile but guarded and safe. Unfortunately for me, or fortunately as things have seemed to turn out, Tom isn't the kind of man who will ever settle down. But, it suits him somehow. I think it's very sad to go through life and never have any roots to come home to. Mama would have called him 'leaves'. Remember she use to say "Aurah, some people are like the roots of the tree that keep you grounded and support you through the storm and some people are like the leaves on the tree that make it pretty for a while and then blow away to make way for new leaves." Yeah well that's Tom. Kinda sad really, but he's a good guy and I hope he stays around a while. This city needs people like him too.

But now there are two new men in my life and I adore them both, Francesca! Haha, no I'm not sleeping with multiple men, though if I were I think I'd have earned it after spending sixteen years with Doug to only have sex twice. No, I'm only sleeping with one of them. The other is my ward, Vladimir. He likes to be called Vlad. He's from Romania. This place really is a melting pot of cultures. Anyway, Vlad is sixteen. He's a sweet boy but I suspect he's very troubled. He's noble and quite the bleeding heart with kids. I admire that about him, but he lets it get the best of him and gets very depressed when the children, especially his 'adopted sister' Desi, does something bad. And believe me...Desi does some baaaaaaaaad things! But Vlad is a treasure. I would keep him forever if I could.

Now back to the one I'm sleeping with. Yes, I know what you're going to say and I'm spending hours at the church in confessions daily but, Principessa...if you just knew him. If you could see him and talk to him and be around him, you'd be as in....well I'm not going to go that far yet. I am still a married woman for the next few months until the court date. Anyway, his name is Fabian and he's a policeman and he is the most noble, kind, and heroic man I've ever met. The first day I met him, he helped me save one of my students from being stabbed by Desi...Yes, the one from above. I told you she was troublesome. The very next day I think it was, Desi attacked him in the coffeehouse. I talked to Desi and Vlad (that was the day I met Vlad) and though Fabian could have taken her to Juvenile Detention easily for attempted assault with a deadly weapon as well as attacking an officer, he didn't. Instead she's doing community service. Fabian really is a saint. We became close friends after that but he had a girlfriend he was very much in love with so I only expected to have a very good friend and ally out of him but then the most...well...indescribable thing happened. Turns out his girlfriend had KIDNAPPED two of the students from my school and their mother and Fabian had to turn them in. That must have been so hard. I can't imagine loving someone and then finding out that they were nothing like you thought they were. Wait a minute, yes I can. I married a gay man. But I digress. Fabian was a mess after that and my heart broke for him. All I could do was comfort him in that hopeless time for him and send silent prayers that God would heal his heart. I didn't expect that God would answer so quickly or so broadly for in the process he seems to have healed mine as well. I never thought I'd open myself up to someone again after Doug's betrayal but here I am. I go to sleep thinking about Fabian. I wake up and my first thought is of Fabian. I've never felt this way before, Principessa. It is a gift from above.

Well...I think that about covers the month. I'll be sure to keep you more posted in the future as my arm can't take another month long entry.

Ciao Francesca!