This should be the happiest day of my life. This is the happiest day of my life. Everything I’ve worked and fought for over the last twelve years is finally coming to fruition.
The years of playing on street corners and at dive bars. The time dedicated to improving our craft. It’s all come down to this.
But there’s one important ingredient missing.
Her.
She’s been with me for every step of this journey. When I imagined this moment, she was by my side.
But she’s got her own journey to complete, and I’d never ask her to sacrifice her dreams for the sake of mine.
It’s six p.m in New York, and just two hours before me and my band, Vento Aureo, perform a sold out show at Madison Square Garden. I can barely believe this is actually happening. Just a few years ago, no one even knew who we were. Just some weird indie band from Italy, and now we’re playing on one of the grandest stages of them all.
We’ll begin our soundcheck soon, but first, there’s something important I have to do.
Having snuck off to a quiet area of the backstage section, I open my iPad and load up Zoom. It barely rings before the screen lights up and she answers.
A wry smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I notice that she’s wearing my old Stones T-shirt.
“Luca!” Her grin is like a firework lighting up a dark sky. Nobody would guess from how lively she is that it’s midnight there.
“I expected you to be asleep by now,” I reply.
“And miss wishing you good luck for the concert later? Never. I’m so, so proud of you and the others. I wish I was there to celebrate with you.”
I sigh. “I wish you were here too. But tomorrow is a big day for you. Do you have everything ready for the signing?”
Fern smiles again and bobs her head. “Yeah, my assistant Maria collected everything I’ll need and delivered it to the bookstore earlier. All I have to do in the morning is get dressed.”
I smirk, knowing Fern is almost as much of a fashionista as I am. The band’s outfits for MSG were designed by Gucci.
Fern tilts her iPad to show our bedroom at our apartment in Rome. There are various outfits hung on the front of the closet. “Which one should I choose?”
I purse my lips for a moment, considering. “I love you in lace and leather,” I tease.
Fern’s cheeks flush. “Luca! Behave. You know neither of those are appropriate for a teen book signing.”
I chuckle, feeling warmth spread through me despite the distance between us. Fern always knows how to make me smile, even when she’s thousands of miles away. But as the call comes to an end and I’m left alone in the backstage area, the emptiness I’ve been trying to ignore creeps back in.
No matter how successful I become, no matter how many stages I grace or fans I entertain, none of it will ever compare to the feeling of having Fern by my side.
But for now, all I can do is focus on the show ahead and hope that somehow, someway, we’ll find our way back to each other.
After The Rain is a collection of fictional stories written by the Write Here, Write Now Community celebrating life after loss—and not always the most obvious kind.
With a hearty mix of humour and warmth, these short reads will remind you that even in the darkest times, there's always a ray of sunshine ready to break through the clouds.
From finding the courage to start over, discovering happiness in the strangest of ways, or simply learning to rise above life’s challenges, these stories will leave you feeling uplifted, inspired, and entertained.
After The Rain is a limited-time anthology, raising funds for Hopefull Handbags UK.
