She had seen the open stage in the park earlier in the day as she passed. Now she stared at the stage again, hours later and with a broken heart.

Noa should've known. The Jasmin City Ballet wasn't going to hire a girl whose birthmark covered half of her face. All of their dancers were examples of elfin chins, smooth skin and chiseled collarbones. She didn't fit the mold, declined at the stage door because of irregularity. They had kindly suggested a lesser known company, but Noa knew. They didn't see her as worth it because of a cluster of cells.

Her face crumbled as she struggled to keep the tears away. Why should her dreams be crushed? It was more excruciating when they attempted to turn her away kindly; as if kindness could hide judgment. They hadn't even asked her to dance. She looked up...even the moonlight seemed comforting after the harsh glare of day and reality.

As she studied the stage, the breeze tugged insistently. Noa relaxed and stepped up onto the temporary stage. Darkness could hide her, tucked away in this park, until she had released some of her shattered dreams to the stars.

Her foot swept outward and Noa leapt, arms open as she twirled under the cover of starlight. Her form spoke volumes in the darkness, is if sonnets and whispers of passionate pleading flew from her fingers. Pain, sorrow, pleasure, desperation, hope...all was bare to the secrecy of midnight.

He watched for a moment, not wanting to disturb her, but his searching heart pleaded to be released with hers. One hurting soul recognized another. His fingers tremblingly plucked the strings of his cello, alerting her to his presence in a gentler way than a voice. She stopped, they stared, each scarcely comprehending the other. Oh, he realized with a sigh. She was a beautiful soul, with a heart across her expression. Although shadowed, her form spoke dreams stretched across endless patience and hope.

"Sorry," he scarcely recognized his breathy tone, so struck was he by her beauty. "I thought I'd give you something to dance to, if you'd like. You're stunning already but," he lost his words, looking away as his fingers continued to grasp the strings as if they were the solution to his awkwardness. Zamir had never been good with girls.

He almost walked away when he heard her. "Please stay." She was soft, insistent. He turned to find she had come down from the stage and stood barefoot on the grass before him. He saw the moon-shaped blemish across her face but it only seemed to add to her mystery. She looked away. "I would like a musician, and a friend."

The next moments were a blur, but he nodded and sat on the stage while she twirled around and around, his adoring eyes never forsaking her form as his music filled the night with peace...and when she smiled at him, his world opened wider than life.