Prologue
**A Few Small Repairs**
"Yes, I'll take it", said the young man that stood in front of Mrs. Perez,
the landlady of the apartment building. She studied him for a second and
became puzzled by what she saw. Why would a young man, a very rich one
judging by the amount of money he gave her as a deposit, want to live in a
rundown apartment like this?
The place he got was a two-room apartment with some furniture that the last
tenant left when he committed suicide over his wife's leaving him. The place
was as immaculate as possible, with a few bloodstains here and there. It had
and ugly brownish-red walls and a broken radiator. A few small repairs were
needed, much like his life.
He sort of looks familiar, thought Mrs. Perez, but the picture was wrong.
He had dark brown hair that was short but in wild disarray. He wore glasses
that hid his beautiful green eyes; she guessed that it was once bright and
sparkling. His appearance, it looked normal but she come imagine more
fashionable clothes on him.
"Alright, let's go to my place across the hall and settle the paperwork",
the landlady led him out of the fourth floor apartment and turned off the
lights.
They both entered the apartment across the hall and then sat down on Mrs.
Perez' kitchen table. After talking over minor details for about 15 minutes,
a little girl about 7 years old came out of one door and approached them.
"Mama, I can't sleep", said the little girl who was rubbing her eyes.
"Sheila, it's almost 10PM. Now why aren't you in bed?", Mrs. Perez looked
at the girl sadly. Sheila pulled herself up to her mother's lap and hugged
her.
"I fell asleep when you put me to bed but a monster tried to chase me in my
dream. I woke up looking for you. I tried to go back to sleep but I just
couldn't", Sheila explained as she babbled with her tiny voice.
The young man stood up then knelt in front of Sheila. The girl faced him
with much curiosity while hugging her mother. "Would you like me to sing to
you so you can go to sleep?" His deep voice somehow calmed her and she
nodded her head. Mrs. Perez smiled and carried Sheila back to her room with
him following behind.
The room made him wince. It was full of posters of boybands and of other
icons of current pop culture. NSYNC, Britney, Christina, The Backstreet
Boys, 98 Degrees, and many more of them. To him, they were memories of a
former life.
Turning away from the walls, he sat down beside the now tucked in Sheila and
flashed her a big smile before singing. He hummed a tune that the mother
recognized as Don McLean's "Vincent".
Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and daffodils
Catch the breeze and winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They did not listen; they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes on china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen; they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you
But still, your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could've told you, Vincent
The world was never meant
For one as beautiful as you.
Mrs. Perez felt the young man's emotion in song and it made her well up in
tears. Sheila fell asleep pretty much as soon as he finished his song. James
bent down to kiss Sheila on the forehead and stood up to join her mother at
the doorway. Both of them walked back to the kitchen
"Thank you very much for getting Sheila to sleep." The man just smiled and
blushed slightly. "By the way, I didn't exactly get your name. If we are
going to be neighbors we have to introduce each other. I'm Miranda." She
extended her hand to shake.
He held out a firm grip and shook. "I'm James."
Chapter 1
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