Nova-Li Azul,  probably the most interesting elaborate thing about her was in fact her name. Besides that she was normal, lacking presence and frankly boring.  She lived in my neighbourhood. In a very peaceful and sociable town. Everyone knew each other and were usually willing to help if someone was ever in need.  At first, I was excited when Nova moved in. I figured that we would become good friends. There were only a couple other kids in my neighbourhood so it was great to hear that there would be someone else to play with.

For two whole days I tugged at my mother's apron asking if I could go over and introduce myself. She sighed and gave me a warm and patient smile saying, "Just give them sometime to settle in. Then you can introduce yourself." On the third day, I ran downstairs and just before I could reach to tug on my mom's apron, she mumbled quickly, "Make sure to be polite and if they seem irritated or busy do not invite yourself in."With  a small bob of my head I rushed away quickly through the door, across the street all the way up to Nova's modest house.

Which was originally a shed for one of the neighbouring houses. Above the door a sign read. "Et in Arcadia Ego" in decorative, thin letters. Half of the sign was a sombre blue and  the other a rich-red.  Little did I expect that the sign was the only thing that would ever give me a clue about the lives of the Azul family.

I knocked confidently on the door-as if I had knocked on their door many times. A short woman, I assumed her mother opened the door just a crack. When she saw me (a child) she seemed to relax a bit and then opened the door wider. She wore a simple blue dress with a white apron and a name tag that read Alandra Azul. Perhaps she was a maid?  Her hair was held with a light blue clip at the back of her head. She spoke softly with a slight accent,

"Um...H-hi, I expect that you are from this neighbourhood? It is kind of you to drop by and say hello." She leaned back and turned her head to the side as if she was looking for something behind the potted plant by the door. "Nova" she called softly "Come say hello." From behind a tall potted plant, a girl emerged.  She held a curious looking book covered with stickers.  A periwinkle blue butterfly stuck out prominently on the back cover. Nova's black hair was tied back with a handkerchief keeping the hair off her face.  Her skin was a pale shade of white in contrast to her mother's more honey coloured complexion. Nova's clothes were simple yet tattered. In the middle of her shirt a skull with dried roses resting all around it grinned sheepishly at me. Her severely tattered jeans had a rag-like sweater tied around her waist, she was not wearing any shoes. She avoided looking directly at me.

We stood like that until I said cheerfully "Hi I'm your new neighbour, my name is Thomas,but you can call me Tom like everyone else does." Nova remained silent. Her mother spoke suddenly,  "Well I'm off to work. I cannot be late on my first day." Nova drew back inside the house and closed the door swiftly. Her mom waved a shy good-bye and began to her walk to the bus-stop, I guess that they didn't have a car, my father had three...
I walked home slowly feeling ashamed and awkward, I worried that I may have offended the Azuls. I approached  my little red door, which is strange considering my house is very large, I opened and closed the door quietly in order to avoid drawing attention to myself. Unluckily for me,my mother was standing in the front hall,  all dolled up with red lipstick, a red and white checkered dress and red heels with large bows in the toes.

She immediately asked,"So what are they like?" I said nothing and pushed past her marching quickly up to my bedroom. I slammed my door shut, the large red poster of spiderman and my favourite red jacket to tumbled onto the ground with a crash. After that day me and the neighbouring knocked on the Azul's door. Nova and her mother would answer, but  Nova would always slip away before anyone could ask her if she would like to play. Sometimes I saw her walking to school, always in her tattered clothes, blue book in hand with her bookbag which was covered in skulls and roses, she always ran away before I could catch-up with her. It wasn't long before the kids on the block began to pick on her, Eventually wanting to fit in I joined in on taunting and bullying Nova. I felt bad for Nova but I never did anything to help her.

By our junior year of high school, Nova had not made any friends. The only change in Nova was her height. Sometimes she had various cuts and bruises on her face from the girls in who picked on her relentlessly. Most notably she still had that blue book, and the same book bag from grade school, tattered clothes and a skull with roses on her shirt right where her stomach was.
At the time I was dating a beautiful, popular girl from class 2 her name was Kelly, Rose, Shelly or something like that. However, I do remember the clothes she wore, always well known designers with detailed and intricate coordination a-striking contrast to Nova's.

My favourite outfit, a short red dress with a matching red bag and some fancy burgundy heels. My girlfriend's family was also very wealthy, her father bought her a brand-new, red Cadillac with leather seats and a convertible rooftop. I drove a red Mercedes-Benz which she thought was cheap but it was still the nicest car ( next to hers) that anyone in our school drove.

My girlfriend was probably the meanest to Nova. She would always have tough flunkie girls from the softball team beat on Nova so that she would never have to mess up her hair which was of course the spitting image of perfection. Yet what my girlfriend did to Nova was hardly comparable to what was going to happen to her.

I was walking to the restroom at school one afternoon when I saw Nova sneaking around the hall before darting through the back exit door. She turned so swiftly that she dropped her blue book. Nova kept running, I picked it up and hurried after her. She did not know that I was following her but she ran incredibly fast for no apparent reason. I followed her to the back of the school. She finally set down her skulls and roses bookbag. There was a person waiting for her dressed in all black with a red bandanna tied around their upper arm. I don't know why but I dashed behind a bush to avoid being seen.  In a low and slithery voice the stranger said, "You made it... I have to say you have guts, coming here without the money that your no good hussy mother still owes me. You really thought I wouldn't find you again?" The stranger begins chuckling in a flirtatious yet deadly manner before continuing " Maybe if I lighten Mama's load she would be motivated to deliver what she owes me sooner? After all nobody would ever miss your dumb arse anyways." Nova stepped back, and let out a small cry, she tried to turn and run. The gunshot sounded unreal, before my eyes I saw Nova shot where the skull and roses sat on her stomach, and Nova was gone.

Nova-Li Azul was wiped off the face of the earth with the simple click of a trigger. Time makes the details blurry but I remember that I called the police, and an arrest was made. It was too late for the damage had been done Nova was gone.

I remember knocking on the door of Nova's house. I wanted to tell Mrs.Azul what had happened. The sign still hung above the door. Mrs. Azul answered the door with kind eyes and a timid smile, "Is there anything you need?" She asked I decide to just tell her quick like when you need to rip off a bandage."Nova...is...gone. Somebody shot her today behind the school."

Mrs. Azul crumpled like a piece of paper, and folded upon herself.  She let out cries of agony and said things that I could not understand. "Jesus Maria! It's all my fault. I failed to keep her safe. Why didn't I send her to her grandmother?" I was shocked to hear such piercing and painful sounds come from such a small and demure woman. I left Mrs.Azul as she cried on the porch.
Later, I closed my bedroom door and  I slipped on a housecoat, feeling lost and confused I opened my book bag and saw Nova's book looking back at me. I hesitated then ripped the book out of my bag and flipped the pages through. It was a sketchbook, filled with remarkable drawings. Composed of curvy lines and bright, bright colours. The artwork was spellbinding. The sheer beauty, creativity and personality expressed into the sketchbook was breathtaking. I flipped to the last page it was filled with people. Some drawn in blue and some drawn in red followed by a quote in intricate lettering, Et in Arcadia Ego. Maybe Nova was never boring black and white. Maybe Nova-Li Azul lived in full colour and I was just living colour blind.