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Bambina slowly stepped towards her father's office, after hearing him shout at someone.

She had woken up from a nightmare in a cold sweat and decided to go to her parents' room, only to find her feet leading her to the only lit room in the house. The door had been cracked open, allowing some light to leak into the hallway, and shining onto Bambina's wide eyed face.

"What do you mean the shipment was lost!?" Her father shouted into a phone, his blue eyes glaring at his laptop, "If you don't find that shipment before the end of the week, it'll be on you when Don Marsalis finds out!" He threatened before slamming the phone down and cursing in Italian.

His eyes snapped up and made contact with Bamina's, hard expression softening as he beckoned for her to come in.

"What's wrong Bambina?" He spoke with his voice contrasting to his previous tone - it was now soft and gentle as he called her by her second name, the name reserved for family and very close loved ones.

"I had a nightmare," she muttered, sitting on her father's lap now, playing with her braids.

There was silence, "Who was that?" Bambina asked, her big eyes looking at her father now.

"A... work colleague." Was his reply as he stood and carried her to his, and her mother's room.

She replied with a nod of her head as they entered the room, her mother waking from the commotion. Placing Bambina on her mother's lap, he kissed her forehead and left once more to his office.

"Bambina il mio amore, why are you awake?" Her mother stroked her head.

"I had a nightmare," she repeated, now playing with her mother's braids.

"Well then, how can I help you sleep?" Her mother gave her a smile.

"Madre, may I hear my future again?" Bambina questioned, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Again? For the 10th time?" She pretended to gape as Bambina vigorously nodded her head, "Well ok then." she held Bambina's small hand in her palm, facing it up as she began to trace the creases like a fortune teller, "One day, you will meet a man, a man who will make you happy beyond description, he will ignite the butterflies in your stomach, the racing of your heart. You will wonder how you ever survived without this person, as you will love him irrevocably, and he, you. Being in his arms will feel like home. He is your soulmate, he is your happily ever after." Bambina smiled, showing her missing front teeth.

"Is padre your soulmate, madre?"

"Yes, he is."

"How did you meet " Bambina asked, rolling over in the bed and pulling the blanket over herself.

"I was a maid, I worked for his... family and one day, I was cleaning, you were crawling and rolling around on the ground, he saw me and stared at me for a good minute, and me at him. He was so handsome, and he chose me, he had lent forward and he took my hand. He took me in and accepted you as his own." She looked off into the distance, a soft smile playing on her face.

Bambina already knew that her father was not in fact her real one, she also knew that her mother did not like to talk about it at all. Why? That she didn't know.

"Alright, enough stories, off we go," her mother stood and carried Bambina out of bed, taking her to her own room and lying her in bed, "Sleep tight il mio amore, il mi amore." She kissed her forehead and left the room.

Bambina sat up in bed, the memories making her miss her parents more, it seemed so real, well it was, but still...

Today was the day that she would move in with the aunt that she never knew, her bags were all packed and by the door, only one outfit laid out on top to wear.

Dressed to impress, she had chosen an off white long sleeve dress - the sleeves fitted till the elbows, where it loosed and flowed out - with off white flats.

She changed and got ready, packing up some last-minute things before going down to the kitchen, the strong smell of bacon surrounding her. There Miranda stood, frying mountains of bacon as she hummed a hymn to herself.

"Morning, Stelle and Mira." Puck walked in a white shirt and loose shorts under, his hair a mess as he lazily smiled.

"Good morning Puck!" Bambina smiled back as she placed 2 pieces of bacon on her plate, as well as an egg and a piece of toast.

"How was your sleep?" Puck questioned, piling his own plate up as he yawned.

"Yours was clearly not long enough," she giggled, "no, my sleep was fine, slept like a baby."

"Are you excited?" Miranda sang the last word, her eyes glistening in pride.

"Very, I'm very eager to meet my zia, but I will miss you all so much." Bambina's eyes began watering.

"Zia?" Miranda cocked her head in confusion.

"Aunt in Italian, she was my madre's sister, my padre had many, but I met none, they had all been disowned he had said." Bambina shrugged.

"Disowned?" Miranda gaped, what was this? the 19th century?

"Yes, padre said he would never do that to me though" Bambina bit her lip and tried to distract herself by digging into her food and humming her happy song.

/(.-.)\

The drive to the location she would meet her aunt at felt longer than it really was.

For the next year, she would be living with someone she hadn't even heard of until that week.Β 

The car Miranda was driving entered into a rich suburban area, and Miranda began muttering about how she wished she was rich. Looking down at the address, Miranda stopped in front of the biggest house Bambina had ever seen, it looked small from where she was, but she could tell it was very far away.

Tall iron and stone gates surrounded the property, further than she could see, they loomed over her, casting shadows her way as the sun set proudly behind the mansion, making it seem as if it were glowing.

Miranda reached out of the window and pressed the intercom, "Who is this?" a harsh voice spoke.

"Umm, Miranda Collins from Child Services, I have Estelle DiAngelo with me," Miranda replied, her voice wavering.

A pair of bulky men in black, entered from the left and right, opening the gate, "Just follow the path and take the first right and keep heading down that way until it ends." one of the security guards said, and Bambina couldn't help but notice the gun strapped to his belt.

Her father had taught her to use one, and she was quite good, knowing everything there was to know about a gun, her father had also taught her self defence, in case of an emergency he had said.

Miranda had already begun to drive in, the guards closing the heavy iron gates behind them as they drove further and further. The path was big enough for two cars to comfortably drive side by side.

After around 2 minutes, Miranda turned into the right path that was thinner and less well taken care of. The path headed away from the main path before smoothly curving back towards it, effectively circling the giant mansion, taking an additional 4 minutes. The path ended in front of a 3 story house that looked stable yet old, brick showing and paint chipping in some places.

Standing in front with hands clasping her heart as she spotted the car was a woman in her 30's - younger than how old Bambina's mother had been when she passed.

Bambina stepped out of the car and was engulfed in the arms of the woman, who was small, but still bigger than Bambina.

"Oh! Nipote! It's been so long! Last I saw, you could hardly walk, let alone talk!" Tears began gathering in the woman's eyes as she inspected Bambina, "You look just like your mother,"

"Zia?" Bambina smiled, tears gathering in her own eyes.

"Nipote, how I've missed you!" She hugged Bambina tightly before turning to Miranda, "Thank you for bringing her to me." Miranda nodded as Bambina stayed in the woman's arms.

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