I am Agnella Mona and I have come a long way. My days in America have been amazing with all the freedom and respect I’ve received here. I can’t believe it’s been 60 years since I’ve arrived here. “Ah, I feel so refreshed here.” I made myself more comfortable in my rocking chair. I live with my husband, Pierre Mona. We have our own pastry shop called Salon de Marie. We also both work at our daycare. The children are so lively! There are about 15-20 kids who come to our daycare. I know them all so well. “The weather is well today.” I slowly close my eyes and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. It’s so peaceful. “Mrs. Mona! What’s this? It’s so pretty!” one of the kids named Julietta ran up to me with something in her tiny hands. “Mrs. Mona, I found this in one of the jewelry boxes you let us have today. The other jewels are very pretty but this necklace looks like you should have it. Do you want it back?” she asked. As I examined the necklace carefully; I suddenly realized something. “This is…?!” I said with total disbelief. “This brings back many memories.” I smiled as tears slowly fall down my wrinkled face.

Agnella Prezioso is my name. I once lived in Pedesina, Italy with my father and older brother. Our mother passed on to the other side when I was only 3 years old. It’s been 10 years since she left and now I am 13 and my older brother, Antonio is 17 years old. My father works as an archaeologist to earn money to support our family. Of course, Antonio and I don’t just sit at home while our father is working all day. “Everyone! We have new sweets on our menu. Come to Sweet Spirits and try our Sourire de l'Ange and Dijonaise au Chocolate!” I was handing out our store menus’ in front of the store smiling. People gathered in front our store looking at the menus. Many smiled and gladly came in to buy some of our sweets. Some even gave us tips. My brother and I make all the sweets ourselves while father is away at work. Isn’t that amazing? Our business is always great since everyone in town is so nice. Life for me was great. Also, guess what; my birthday is coming up. I’m going to turn 14 in a week. A few days passed, “Happy Birthday Agnella!” my father and older brother sang. We celebrated my birthday in the shop. We had a blast! It was only me, father and Antonio and that’s enough for me now. We sang, danced, and ate a lot of sweets too. Finally, my father and brother said they have a gift for me. They told me to close my eyes and count to ten and so I did what I was told. “One… Two… Three… Four… Five…Six... Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten!” My eyes burst open and see a very pretty necklace with one jewel that was the colors of the sea. There was a silver chain which held the jewel in place. The jewel was shaped of a teardrop. The beautiful jewel had a pure white star which shined brighter than any star I’ve seen. My father held the necklace in his hands and placed it around my neck. “Father, is this your gift from you and Antonio? Did you pay a lot of money for this?” I asked with a concerned look on my face. “Agnella, this was your mother’s. She told me that only you shall have this in your possession once she was in the afterlife. They jewel on the silver chain is called Tear. This is from me, your older brother and your mother. Please accept this. Okay?” my father smiled. Of course I accepted the gift. After I received the gift, we all spent time with each other until the sun rose again. That day has been a day for me to remember for the rest of my life. My life was peaceful and amazing. However, things did not stay that way.

“Father! Father! Wake up, please! Father!” I screamed at the top of my lungs in the hospital. There was an accident at the site my father was working at. My father was working at ruins of an old temple which was 100 years old. Then something happened when he walked in the ruins. Arrows were thrown at him from every direction. As time passed one of his co-workers noticed he has been there too long and found him lying on the ground, surrounded by a giant puddle of my father’s blood. They called the shop and immediately informed us about the incident. Antonio and I rushed over to the hospital as fast as we can. “Father, speak to me, please! I’m begging you…please…” I whimpered. I was running out of tears to cry. My eyes were all red was crying. My hands hurt from holding father’s hand too hard. Antonio was speaking to the doctors who were in charge of my father. Once we were done with speaking to the doctors and it was getting late, we left the hospital since we couldn’t stay. As we both walked home I asked my brother, “Will father be okay? Will the nurses and doctors help? Will we go back to our family like we used to?” He stayed quiet the entire walk home. I was really worried. Once we arrived home, we both stayed in one room to sleep in. That night was quiet. When I was about to fall asleep I could smell smoke and it was really close. I think it’s inside our house. “Brother…” I tried to wake him up. He suddenly rose up from his slumber and asked what happened. I told him about the smoke and he left to check what happened downstairs. I waited for him for him to come back up here patiently. First ten minutes, then fifteen minutes passed and then I grew impatient. I got off the bed and open the door. Flames filled the entire hallway. Brother! I ran to find him in the flames. “Brother! Brother!” I covered my mouth and nose to prevent inhaling the smoke. I ran into the kitchen. There I found Antonio on the floor with ashes covering his clothes. “Antonio!” I shrieked. I grabbed him and placed him on my back. I escaped the flames by going to the nearest exit. We were finally outside of the house and everyone in the neighborhood went outside to see what happened. One of them called the fire department to extinguish the fire. Our house was engulfed with flames. Why? Why does this keep happening? First, father’s in the hospital, then Antonio is burned and the house is in flames. What happened to my peaceful, happy life? I just remembered my brother was on my back. I brought Antonio to the hospital my father is also staying at. Once I arrived to the hospital the doctors who were in charge of my father wanted to speak with me. “You are Agnella Prezioso, right?” one of the doctors asked. I nodded. I could tell from the looks in their eyes that I was going to get bad news. “Your father can’t be saved…” What… You aren’t serious, right? Tell me you’re joking. “Why not?” I tried to stay calm. “Well, the arrows that struck your father had poison on them. We are not familiar with the poison and we have done all we could trying to figure it out. The poison is already…” his voice faded away. “Your father will soon…” No… don’t say it! Don’t! Please don’t... “Die.” He finished his sentence and looked away from me. Tears streamed down my face as soon as he said the word, “die”. I ran into my brother’s room and checked up on him, still crying. He’s still not awake. “Antonio.” I whispered. A couple of my teardrops fell on his eyelids. Suddenly I saw my brother’s eyes slowly opening. My eyes drew wider. Finally, his eyes opened. “Agnella?” he said weakly. “Are you okay?” I nodded quickly. He smiled. “That’s good. Agnella, I need to tell you something.” I tilted my head in confusion. “What is it?” I asked. He responded, “You must know that the Tear must not be giving to anyone. Mother told me that you should be the only one to own this. It once belonged to her. It has a very special background. All you need to know is that it is yours only. Understand?” I nodded my head again. “Okay. Also, I love you. Now I can…” his voice trailed away. His eyes slowly closed and his body stopped moving. “Brother?” I called. His heart stopped. That night was a lonely, cold and tearful night.

The next day, I learned that father has died that night. That day I also set off to a country call America. I traveled with others I did not know. However, one of the women took care of me during the trip. I stayed with her until we arrived. I was frightened to travel to a new place but, I must live a new life. I want to find another peaceful life. I want to keep my family’s spirit lively and jovial. I also must keep the Tear safe. We arrived in America. I first looked for a job to earn enough money to support myself. I already had the money that I’ve saved up. I tried and tried to get a job in America but no one accepted me since I was still a child. Now I’m in the state of California. I still sought a job which requires great cooking skills or good with children. I loved cooking and children my entire life. I roamed around the streets to find some work available. As I was walking down the streets of San Francisco, a boy with blonde hair, around my age or a few years old, ran up to me and asked, “Hi, do you need a job? It looks like you need one.” How did he know I needed a job? Is he a mind-reader like the ones I’ve read in books when I was a kid? He looks at my clothes. “You’re not from around here, are you? You dress weird.” How rude! It’s not like I have a choice. I don’t have much money! I need to buy food and I’m running out of money! Well, I’ll just listen first. “Yes. I am not from here. I used to live in Italy. Also I do need a job. What type of job is it?” I replied. He answered, “Me and my uncle have a pastry shop around here and we’re low on employees. I was looking for more workers to help out and I found you. So are you willing to help out? Don’t worry, you’ll get paid too. Wait! First are you good at cooking? He had an eager and worried look on his face. I was so happy! This is the perfect job for me. “Yes! I used to have my own pastry shop in Italy. I can even show you some of the pastries I had in my shop!” I was so excited! “Great! We would love to eat some later! Come, I’ll show you our shop!” He grinned. Then to my surprise he grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the shop. It was super close to where we were talking at. I stared at the store’s name: Salon de Marie. I opened the door and just walked into heaven. The shop had glamorous sweets on display. The shop was packed with costumers. Also, the shop had many different types of sweets. They sold sweets that were from Japan, France, Russia, Germany, and Italy. I don’t think someone order these. I recognize some of famous pastries like Maccha Gâteau Chocolat and Sakura Gelato. However, they are very different. Many have their own designs and have unique aromas. It all looks so luxurious. Then a man with a white apron came from the kitchen. He spoke with the boy, “Is she the new employee? Is she skilled?” He was looking at me and back to the boy. The boy replied, “Yep! She told me that she used to own a sweets shop too.” He smiled and waved to me. I guess I should wave back. I smiled and waved back. The man with the boy nodded. “Well then,” he turned to me, “ Welcome to Salon de Marie!” Thank you!

“Well, let start with introductions. I’m Fabian Mona. This boy is my nephew, Pierre Mona. He may be a bit obnoxious and troublesome but please bear with him.” Mr. Mona smiled. “Hey!” Pierre’s face turned kinda red. I giggled a little. Mr. Mona continued, “I am the main patissiere and Pierre is the waiter. You can serve the sweets and make some of them if you like. Now what is your name?” I responded, “I am Agnella Mona. I am from Pedesina, Italy. My family used to own a pastry shop called Sweet Spirits. I am very good at making different and new sweets from scratch. I enjoy cooking very much.” Then I saw Mr. Mona and Pierre look a bit puzzled. Pierre then asked, “Used to? What happened? Oh and why are you even in America?” I was a little shocked my all these questions. I felt tears sliding down my cheeks. Pierre looked surprised after, “Whoa, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’m sorry for asking you all these questions at once.” He looked guilty. “I’m sorry,” I wiped my tears away, “I didn’t mean to cry. I’ll tell you why I’m in America and what happened back in Italy.” I explained everything that happened at home – my peaceful life at first and my necklace, then my father’s accident, the house burned down, my brother and father’s death and the reason I came here. I also told them I had nowhere else to go live since I don’t know anyone here. I could tell both of them felt sympathy for me. “I see. Well, now you can stay with us. We’ll provide you food and clothes. Don’t worry about paying us back since you are working for us. We’ll take care for you.” Mr. Mona was giving me a big smile. I turned and looked at Pierre and he nodded and smiled. I couldn’t speak a word. All I did was wept tears of joy.

I continued working for Mr. Mona and Pierre for a couple of months. I know them so much more about them. I always learned new recipes from Mr. Mona and Pierre always played with me and talked to me. I got really close to them as if they were part of my family. I especially got close to Pierre. Every time I spent time with him I noticed new things. For example, his eyes were as blue as a clear ocean; he always looks to the left when he’s lying, shy, or teasing and every time he’s serious, he never looks away from you. I never noticed that he was a lot cuter if you look at him closer and know him better. I thought it was really weird how I always thought about him every day. Then I realized that I liked him. I still couldn’t believe myself. Then the next day, I couldn’t concentrate at all. I was messing up the recipes, mistaking the orders and tripping all over the place. Thankfully, Pierre kept on helping me and fixing all my mistakes. Once the day was over Mr. Mona told me it was okay once and a while but not to make a habit of doing those mistakes. After that Pierre and I went up to his room and I sat on his bed while he was sitting in a chair across from me. Then he asked me, “Agnella, are you okay? You’ve been dazed all day. Are you sick? Do you have a fever?” He placed his hand on my forehead. Oh my… I might faint right here. My face turned bright red and my heart was pounding so hard and fast. It’s like everyone can hear my heart beating. Stupid heart, be quiet! Please, be quiet. He’ll hear you! I really need to calm down. Although, I think that, I can’t! “Agnella?” Pierre looked really worried. I really didn’t want to make him worry. It’s too troublesome. Love is too troublesome. “Um… I’m okay. It’s just I didn’t get enough sleep late night. I was too busy… making new recipes, you know?” I said weakly. I’m so not good at lying. “I think I should sleep now. I’ll see you tomorrow morning…” I was about to rise from the bed until Pierre push me down on the bed. He was holding onto my wrists and was now on top of me. I asked “Pierre, what are you— “I like you!” Pierre admitted. Right after that he kissed me; light kiss which was as sweet as honey. Pierre… Then Pierre loosened his grip from my wrist. At that moment I just hugged him right there. I held him tightly. “Agnella… why are you hug— “I like you too...” I began. “I like you too much. I can’t even act normal around you. Today I was thinking about you only. I always blush when you’re around and my heart is driving me crazy. I just love you…” a single tear fell. My face was so red. Pierre was really shocked at first but then smiled and wiped the tear away. He was blushing so much. “I love you too. I want to stay with me tonight. Will you?” My answer was just “Yes.” That night was our night only; our night for the two of us.
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A few weeks later, we told Pierre’s uncle, Mr. Mona, about us. I thought he was going to disapprove our relationship but he was already on board. He said that he knew from the start that we would be together. Then Mr. Mona gave the shop to us. “Are you serious? You’re sure?” Pierre asked. “Yes, I’m sure. I think you two can handle owning the shop. Agnella, make sure Pierre doesn’t mess up the store.” Mr. Mona replied. I smiled a little. We stayed with each other like a family. A few years later, the shop was close and when I was in the shop cleaning Pierre came up and asked me something I wanted to hear for a long time – “Will you marry me?” He was on one knee and in his hand was a ring. The ring was not white though. It was the color of the Tear, my necklace’s jewel. Of course I said “Yes.” I was so happy to be Agnella Mona. Later on in life we built a daycare. We both enjoyed our lives together. I loved every moment of it with Pierre. I loved the shop and the daycare with all the kids. I still missed my family but I know they’re watching over me and my husband. I know that that gave us their blessing, I’m sure of it.

“The Tear brings back so many memories. This necklace brought me love and blessings. Once I received this my life changed. This necklace gave me the courage and strength to move on in life. I had a chance in love and I connected with my family. The Tear was my red string of fate.” I whispered and wiped my tears away. “Julietta, my dear, thank you for giving this back to me. Do you want to know why this necklace is precious to me?” I smiled. The child quickly nodded and smiled. I laughed. Then Mr. Mona walked in. “What are you two talking about?” he asked. I showed him the necklace. “Ah, are you going to tell her the story that necklace holds?” I nodded. “Well, why don’t you just tell all of the children?” Mr. Mona smiled. We called all the children and started with the words “Once upon a time…”