Chapter 1

"Aria! Aria! Come on now, you're getting late!" The voice of a woman came from the door way.

"Coming~ Coming~" A meek voice replied to the woman as the sound of a child running on wooden floor could be heard.

"There you are," The woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties said.

She had light brown hair that curled at the ends, thing lips that were dressed in a pale red lipstick and deep hazel eyes that gave her a motherly feeling. She wore a long summer dress on which an apron was hung.

"Sorry mommy, I couldn't find my crayon box." The little girl replied.

She wore a kindergarten school uniform with a yellow cap and a pink backpack. Her hair was tied in two pigtails and she had a small round face with hazel eyes that matched her mother.

"Didn't I tell you to place your things in the right place before sleeping? Wait a minute… don't tell me your were coloring late at night sneakily again, Hmm?" Aria's mother questioned.

"Hehehe… I just had a good dream and wanted to draw the things I saw in my dreams." Aria replied while avoiding her mother's eyes.

~Sigh~

"What do I do about this girl…" the mother said, shaking her head.

"Anyways, Grandpa Lu has been waiting for you all this time. You should be grateful that he is willing to take you to school everyday. You shouldn't making him wait." The mother said.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Aria said with a sad pout.

"There, there, Maria. No need to scold the poor child. I am old and retired, I have all the time in the world now." An old man's voice was suddenly head.

Maria and Aria turned to look at the door and saw an old man peeking his head in.

The man had no hair to speak of on his head, except for a rather unruly beard. But once could see the kindness in the man's eyes. Once he moved a bit more, his body could now be seen.

He was nothing special, looking like any old grandpa in his eighties. He was relatively slim and had thin arms. In his left hand he held a cane while in his right he held the door's handle.

"Grandpa Lu!" Aria said with excitement as she rushed into the embrace of the old man.

"Ah, nothing's better than little Aria's hugs." The old man said patting Aria's head.

Maria watched the two's interaction with a smile on her face as she sigher to herself.

"Thank you for taking her to school, Grandpa Lu. I have to get to work soon as well." Maria spoke.

"It's okay. I like spending time with little Aria. It's no problem for me to take her to school." Grandpa Lu said before holding the hand of Aria.

"Let's go shall we?" the old man said with a smile.

"Okay~" Aria said before turning to her mother.

"Good bye mommy!" Aria fiercely waved her hand.

"Take care and don't cause trouble for your teacher." Maria said before waving her hand as well.

As much as she would like to take Aria herself, she knew that work was more important for both her and Aria. As a single mother, every single bit of money helped and she was thankful that she had the support of Grandpa Lu these few years.

The old man wasn't even related to her in any way and was just and old man that lived beside their house. The man was a widower and without any children of his own, because of which he was always nice to kids and took care of them as his own.

He was often found taking care of the neighborhoods little kids and acting as a baby sitter. Despite his old age, he was quiet active and was considered to be the favorite person of the neighborhood's kids.

Maria was just grateful that she managed to get a house in this neighborhood and met such good people. She watched on as the old man took her little girl to school, before closing the door.

***

Out on the street, little Aria and Grandpa Lu had been walking hand in hand as Aria looked around everywhere curiously.

"Grandpa, grandpa!" Aria suddenly said.

"Yes?" The old man looked at the little girl.

"Tell me more of the stories while we walk." Aria replied, "walking like this is boring!"

"Okay, what story would you like to hear?" the old man asked.

"Mmm…." Aria mumbled to herself with a finger on her chin.

"Tell me something new, please~" Aria finally said, unable to pick a story.

She had heard a lot of the stories that grandpa Lu told her and many other kids and now wanted a new one.

"Hmm… which one should I tell you this time… come walk, while I think of something." The old man said.

"Okay~" Aria said and they started walking.