[Cis Female She/Her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [SANA BASHIR]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [AIYSHA HART]. You must be the [THIRTY FOUR] year old [LOUNGE SINGER AT THE GOLDEN HOUR LOUNGE]. Word is you’re [CHARMING] but can also be a bit [DAUNTED] and your favourite song is [FLOW BY SADE]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [FISHERS COVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it!
Sana always wanted to be adored. The pull of stage lights pulled the young woman after watching Moulin Rouge in the dead of night, trying not to wake up her family. Born to immigrant parents, Sana doesn't remember much of her life in Jeddah, as the family moved to London when she was 3. The Bashir's didn't exactly anticipate their youngest to yearn for show business, but they learnt very quickly there was simply no changing her mind. Her sister planned for a career as a doctor, as Sana was learning to sing as a mezzo-soprano. Every competition her parents took her to, Sana stole the show. Addicted to the cheers, to the idea of being loved by the crowd. She could hold everyones breath and attention in the room. As she got older, as this addiction helped her begin her career as a live stage singer, it also showed it's more toxic edge. Singing in Jazz clubs brought the upper echelons of town, and a young and impressionable Sana let herself believe the men that held the door to their Mercedes adored her, for her. Not just the vision they saw on the stage. Often left lonely and desiring that familiar feeling of praise. Glamorous, young, & talented. But, expendable. She played a role on stage, but didn't seem to have an identity outside of it. And why would she? The elation she experienced on stage, especially when making it to the great Albert Hall was too good to not try and experience at all hours of the day. As Sana gained income, she partied with other performers and the guests of the shows. Her parents were concerned for their child's safety, and obscuring the image the Bashir's had formed for themselves after hearing from 3rd parties what their daughter was up to each night. But no matter how frustrated they may be, she was still their little Sana. Who'd come home every week her parents and sister, all the while not acknowledging the elephant in the room.
But what goes up must eventually come down. After falling in love on stage for the millionth time with a suave looking man in a suit at a small and exclusive club in Central London, it all come crashing. David was everything Sana ever dreamed of, and the way he watched her sing on stage, it was if she could see him fall in love along side her. It was the dream romance, finding her soulmate during a show, singing a love ballad. The usual routine unfolded, and once again found herself alone in a strangers bed. It wasn't the fairytale she'd dreamed of, ushering herself out of the grand home. She may have never thought about this man again, until it came to those two lines that changed her life. Sana couldn't believe it, she was twenty eight and pregnant with the child of a man who didn't even say goodbye at the door.
Confiding in her co-performer, Sana discussed the situation, letting it slip on who the father was. Next mistake. Word spread. And it wasn't long before David had come around to Sana's dressing room — parents and lawyers in tow. Sana remembered how her colleagues would whine on about Sana needing to lower her standards, the trust fund babies the bar attracted would never indulge her for longer than a night. And, maybe, they were right. As the request was posed, David's family demanded sole custody of the child she carried. At first Sana was insulted, disgusted at the request. But the more the lawyer and David's parents continued to speak, the more Sana started to question whether she was prepared to look after such a child. They wanted her out, and Sana knew she didn't have the capacity to fight a family like this. Without any legal council, Sana signed the agreement ten minutes before her show. She cried in the dressing room for an hour after.
Sana wasn't able to see David again till after the birth, and it was all a blur of emotions. Her family, still bewildered on how David's family managed to guilt their daughter into a decision, went straight to support the young woman post-partum. They wanted to fight this, but Sana defeatedly protested. The decision to leave England came not long after. Sana couldn't stand to know her son lived a stones throw from her, but she could not see him. This time Sana's parents could find some understanding in her decisions, helping her pack. Assuming she'd be back after a year or so. But a more mature, but a little hardened Sana, wanted to plant roots somewhere new. Rebuild her career, and do it all over again. Without the partying, without David, and without her son. Perhaps time would heal an old wound or two.
After landing a position at the Golden Hour, Sana bought a home in Aurora Bay, determined to never let the dependancy to applause ever hurt her again.
Wanted Connections
Musically inclined friends
People she would have known in the UK
A fan with a parasocial view on Sana
Regular patron Sana shares a regular flirtation with
Friends that helped her settle into living in the US
Run club friends
Bad blood — of any variation
