We brought her home.
Along the way, Aria barely spoke.
She just kept looking at the child in her arms—
as if confirming that she was real.
Not a dream.
Not an illusion.
And that little girl adapted quickly.
She leaned against Aria, her small hand clutching her clothes.
Occasionally, she would look up at her—eyes bright like water.
We gave her a name.
No longer just “Little Star.”
But—Elara.
It was a name Aria chose.
She said she had looked it up.
It’s a moon that orbits Jupiter.
Quiet.
Distant.
Yet always there.
“Just like her,” Aria said at the time.
“Existing somewhere in the world… even when I didn’t know.”
Originally, I planned for her to take Aria’s surname.
That would have been the most natural choice.
But Aria shook her head.
She was silent for a moment.
Then
