There was only one song playing in young Aria's room.
Beyond Control.
It had been on repeat for almost an hour now.
But the moment the song ended—
young Aria played Evelora's live performance video instead.
Her phone rested against the pillow, the glow from the screen illuminating the dark room as Evelora's voice filled the air once more.
Young Aria watched closely.
Too closely.
Every movement.
Every pause.
Every expression.
Unconsciously, she picked up her hairbrush and held it like a microphone—the exact same way Evelora held hers on stage.
By now, she knew the performance by heart.
She knew when Evelora would turn left.
When she would close her eyes.
Even the slight smile before the chorus.
Young Aria stood from the bed and walked toward the mirror.
Then she began to sing.
At first, she copied Evelora's signature pose.
Then the gestures followed naturally.
She even attempted to imitate her tone too, forcing her voice higher—
but the note cracked slightly.
She stopped immediately.
"No," she whispered. "That's not how Evelora would sing it."
Her grip tightened around the hairbrush.
"Focus, Aria."
She replayed the performance again before pausing the video completely.
"Evelora…" she murmured softly, brushing her fingers against the screen.
"At training, Miss Sofia said she could hear the nervousness in my voice." A small smile appeared on her face. "Maybe you can teach me how to hide it… so I can make Mom proud too."
"Why, Aria? Why?!" I screamed at her, hoping somehow she would hear me and stop.
"It was always Evelora this, Evelora that with you, wasn't it?!"
As expected—
she didn't hear me.
She simply pressed play again and continued singing along to Beyond Control like nothing else in the world mattered.
I finally understood something.
Somewhere between the singing, the practicing, and the obsession—
I was slowly preparing to walk onto that stage as someone else.
The memory faded.
"No… not the loop again," I whispered.
But this time, I was wrong.
It wasn't a loop.
Five new memories appeared before me instead—
They stood side by side almost like a chain of memories—
But they weren't moving yet.
It looked like a montage.
A memory montage.
And then one of the memories played.
I saw young Aria, Miss Sofia, and Lewis training once again.
"Do it again," Miss Sofia instructed.
Young Aria inhaled deeply before singing once more.
"Stop forcing the note," Miss Sofia said. "You sound like the singer. I want you to sound like you. Let it flow naturally."
The memory shifted.
Later that night, young Aria replayed Evelora's performance again.
This time, she focused on the exact way Evelora breathed between each line—
carefully trying to imitate every note until it sounded like hers.