Nadia
One hot, muggy, May night in Italy, Nadia was sitting outside her palace in the rose garden looking up at the sky hoping for her dream to come true. Nadia was adopted when she was five years old to Angelino and Rosetta Mulano. The Mulano’s had two other daughters, Abigail and Marlo. The two sisters were very jealous of Nadia because she had many hidden talents, and was ravishing.
Nadia stood five foot six inches with long legs that could reach for miles. Her hair was dark brown that streamed down her shoulders. Nadia’s eyes are like blue sparking water, which are often filled with tears. Nadia has tan skin that makes her even more stunning.
Nadia feels like her life consists of only cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and taking care of her miserable older sisters. Nadia is very close to her father but he has left Nadia to go and take care of a business he started in the United States. Her mother doesn’t care too much for Nadia because she feels Nadia took the love from her husband. The very first time Angelino laid eyes on his beautiful daughter he fell in love and gave most of his attention to Nadia instead of his other daughters.
Nadia was the ripe age of seventeen and dreamed everyday that her life would change and she will get taken away from the pain she lives in. No one knows but Nadia and her father that she has a voice like a songbird. When Nadia is alone in the large palace in Italy she sings to keep herself company. Her favorite type of music to sing is opera, and one day she wants to be a singer in the opera.
After finishing all of her work Nadia had to listen to her sisters trying to get ready for their night out on the town. Abigail was very skinny with short brown hair and had a large forehead. Marlo on the other hand was average size and had long brown hair but had a large nose. She seemed to always be ordering Nadia around and thought Nadia should not be as a pretty as she was. But Marlo would never admit to Nadia how pretty she really was. The two sisters were going to a movie premier to meet the handsome and talented actor, Antonio. Antonio is tall, with dark skin and has a caring personality. Nadia asked her sister if she could go and Marlo quickly snaps back, “of course not, you look horrible in your cut up jeans and lose fitting t-shirt.”
Nadia left the sisters bedroom and went to her room up in the attic and started crying. “Why isn’t father here, if only father was here” cried Nadia. She knew if her father was there her sisters would not treat her so unfairly. After Nadia heard her sisters leave she went out to the rose garden and began singing a song that would make anyone feel the love she had to give. She began to burst into tears and was weeping to no end.
Out of nowhere a white nightingale came to Nadia,
“Dear child, why are you crying so?” The nightingale said.
“I just want to be loved and be taken far away from here” Nadia sniffled.
And the nightingale knew he could help Nadia and make her dream come true.
“Well, what can we do? What is it that will make you feel better?”
“To go to the movie premier would be nice.” Nadia told the nightingale.
The nightingale thought and thought to himself about how to get Nadia to the premier. “Ah ha, I’ve got it,” announced the nightingale.
In the gazebo that surrounded the rose garden was a piano that Nadia’s mother would play and a microphone she used to sing with.
“We shall make you a black stretch limo out of the piano.” And with one flutter of his wing the piano was now a black limo awaiting Nadia.
“But I can’t go looking like this with my hair a mess and my jeans torn.” Cried Nadia. “My dear, we shall fix that, quickly.” Promised the nightingale.
The nightingale picked a rose from the garden that was glistening with raindrops from an evening rain shower. Magically Nadia was wearing a red satin dress flowing to the floor with silver sequins embellishing the dress from top to bottom. The microphone from her mother’s piano became jewelry to go around Nadia’s neck. The necklace was made out of diamonds and rubies and made to fit only around Nadia’s neck.
“How beautiful you are, you will be stunning, my dear.”
Nadia cried and pronounced her thanks to the nightingale. But, there was still one last
thing. She needed shoes. With a tap from the Nightingale’s wig a silver rock in the garden became shiny diamond slippers that fit only Nadia’s feet.
Nadia was impressed by the transformation and was delighted to be going to the move premier. She just knew that she would meet Antonio and win his heart away as soon as he looked into her eyes. The nightingale warned Nadia that she would return to her old self before 1:00 a.m. and that she must be back before her sisters came home.
The black limo took off down the road towards the town where the movie premier was being held. As Nadia arrived at the premier she could not believe how wonderful everything appeared. The lights, the people, the red carpet laid out to walk on the mass of people surrounding Antonio. She looked all around for her sisters but never saw them. They must be trying to find someone else since Antonio is busy thought Nadia.
She stepped out of the limo and as soon as she looked up there was Antonio looking right into those big blue eyes of Nadia’s. She started to blush and quickly Antonio went to Nadia and took her hand and embraced her.
“Good evening Miss, I am Antonio and who must you be, looking ever so charming?” Nadia did not know what to say, all she could do was look at Antonio and smile. Finally she managed to stutter,
“My name is Nadia.”
“Would you like to dance, Nadia?” the charming actor asked.
He took Nadia by the hand and they pushed their way through the crowd of anxious people and led Nadia to the dance floor. He looked into her eyes and kept telling her how wonderful she looked and how he could not imagine dancing with anyone as beautiful as she. Eric Clapton’s song, “You Look Wonderful Tonight” was playing while they danced. They talked and laughed and Nadia was having the best night of her life. Before she knew it, time had flown and it was already 12:55 a.m. She scurried around looking for her purse, snatched it up and flew out of the door towards her limo. Antonio was behind her waving his arms for her to come back to him. She waved and blew him a kiss.
“Thank you, my dream has come true, thank you again.”
He stood there motionless and asked the people around if they knew why she had to leave so suddenly but no one knew. Antonio was heart broken the rest of the night. Many gorgeous women came up to him and tried to cheer him up, but he was lost. Antonio had found the woman of his dreams one wonderful night. One of Antonio’s producers ran up to him and gave him the necklace that Nadia was wearing. Antonio thought that the necklace must have fallen off when she was leaving,
The next morning Antonio commissioned his manager to call every household on the east side of the city to look for anyone who was wearing the diamond and ruby necklace. No one confessed to wearing the necklace so Antonio and his manager went out looking for his, “Miss Right.” They knocked on many doors and spoke to many young women, but none of these women were Nadia.
They searched and searched for days. Before they realized how long they had been searching, it was the end of May. June was approaching and Antonio was due to leave and start filming a new movie in the States. He was determined to find Nadia and take her with him.
“I must find her! She is the love of my life!” Exclaimed Antonio.
Finally the day arrived when Antonio and his manager went to the palace Nadia lived in. They knocked on the huge brass door and at last Rosetta came to the door. The actor asked if the necklace belonged to one of her daughters. Rosetta was over come with joy to see a famous actor in her house looking for her daughters.
She quickly called out, “Girls, girls come quickly. It is the actor, Antonio!”
The two sisters came running down into the foyer glistening with joy.
“Hello, ladies,” Antonio spoke. I am terribly sorry to trouble you today but you are not the beautiful woman I had hoped to find.”
“But yes, I am the one you want,” spoke Abigail.
“No, it’s me,” argued Marlo.
“Ladies, I hate to burden you, but when I look into your eyes, they are not the same eyes I looked into at the premier.”
Just when Antonio and his manager were leaving, Nadia walked into the front door, with sweat running down her forehead from mowing the lawn.
“Nadia is that you, is that really you?” Antonio became mesmerized. “My love, what is the matter, why are you so hot and breathless?”
Nadia looked up into his big brown eyes and tears started streaming down her face.
“Please, I am sorry I look this way, please don’t leave.” Nadia wept.
Antonio grabbed Nadia and embraced her with a big hug and kiss and professed his love right then.
“Nadia, will you marry me?”
She looked at him and with a smile said, “Yes, yes I will marry you!”
Rosetta and the sisters were in shock. Their eyes were bulging out and could not believe that Nadia had won the heart of the most handsome actor in Italy.
Once Antonio and Nadia left the palace he took her back to his mansion, and they talked the night away. They talked about their lives and had a wonderful time. Then Nadia sang Antonio a song that sent chills up his spine. The couple was in love and could not wait until they were married.
June had arrived and it was time for Antonio to leave for the United States to start filming his movie. He and Nadia hand and hand boarded the airplane in route for the United States. Once they were there they were going to get married in New York at Rockefeller Center. When they arrived, Nadia’s father was there to meet his daughter and future son-in-law. Antonio had discovered that Nadia’s father was in the United States. So Antonio called him to meet them at the airport. Nadia was extremely happy to see her father and again tears started flowing. Nadia was the happiest woman alive.
June 6th was the day for Nadia and Antonio to be married. She wore a white satin spaghetti strap dress, with a sequined train that flowed down her back. Her dark brown hair was flowing in the wind and her big blue eyes came to meet Antonio’s dark brown eyes. Her father kissed her and gave her away. They said their vows, professed their love to each other, and became man and wife. The newly weds took a carriage ride in Central Park.
After the two were married they remained in the United States. Antonio continued his career in acting, and Nadia became an opera singer. The couple lived very happily and shared their story of fate with everyone they met. Antonio and Nadia fell in love at first sight.