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A perfect note for those who knew her

Deepa Bharath

Aria.

It was the perfect name for that little girl whose life ended on a

high note.

Like a beautiful, rich, sweet melody, she touched many hearts,

placated their senses and left them yearning for more.

Those who knew Aria best have a hard time describing her. All they

know is they’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.

She was only 10. If the cancer that repeatedly ravaged her body

had let her live one more month, she would’ve been 11.

Aria was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 3. Doctors, at the

time, believed that she had the curable kind of cancer. But nothing

went as planned. She would undergo chemotherapy and be fine for

months or even a year and then she’d go into remission.

In May 2000, she had a bone marrow transplant. Her brother,

Jordan, turned out to be the perfect match. The transplant was

successful. But the hope was all dried up in six months. The cancer

came back. In March 2001, Aria went through a risky second bone

marrow transplant. And again, it was successful.

The 2 1/2 years that followed were the best of her life. Her

long, curly, lustrous, brown hair, which Aria absolutely loved, grew

out. She went to school in Tarrytown, N.Y., where her family then

lived, and then in Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa.

She danced. She played with her cousins, twin girls, which was her

favorite thing in the world. The girls dressed up, sand, danced,

drew, played with dolls and went shopping for clothes.

But in August 2003, cancer dealt her another blow. And this time

it struck harder than ever. She went into remission several times. In

January, she almost died of fungal pneumonia.

For all her suffering, Aria continued to live her life. She

laughed and she cried. She expressed anger when she felt it.

But Aria wanted to live more than anything else.

She always talked about her future. She would talk about it as if

she was going to be there.

It was her dream to be the host of a cooking show for kids. Emeril

and Iron Chef on the Food Network were some of her favorite programs

on television.

Aria was also shaping up into quite a chef. She made bruschetta.

She made up Aria Roll, her version of the California sushi roll with

artichoke hearts, Spike seasoning, sprouts and cucumber. Another one

of her original recipes was Boom Chicken, a baked chicken dish with

spicy curry sauce and honey.

Aria loved animals. She adopted a cat that she named Squeakers.

The cat kind of squeaked when she meowed. Aria was even taking

horse-riding lessons, but had to stop because of her health.

She liked to watch her brother, Jordan, as he played video games.

She could sit on the bed and watch him for hours.

Jordan always turned around to catch her reaction when they were

watching a funny movie or cartoon together. She had such a cute belly

laugh. Jordan didn’t take his eyes off her until she stopped

laughing.

They had a special relationship. Aria’s suffering deepened their

bond. Jordan liked to kiss her on the cheek. He liked to do that

because no matter how the rest of her body looked after the

treatments, her face was always full. Her cheeks were big, soft and

cold and when he kissed them, she pushed him away, kicking up an

affectionate fuss.

Aria also liked to watch Jordan fly his remote-controlled

airplanes. The last plane Jordan made, he dedicated to Aria. He wrote

a letter on the plane’s wings telling her how much he loves her and

wants her back. Life wasn’t normal to see his sister in pain. But

Jordan would rather have that hellish existence than one where he

doesn’t have a little sister.

Aria’s other love was school. She teleconferenced with her class

when she was stuck in the hospital. And when she went back to school

in spring, she plugged right in. She had no problems adapting or

getting used to anything. Science was her favorite subject.

But during her last week of school, the disease she had been

fighting almost all her life came back stronger than ever. Even then,

Aria was resilient. She was stronger than those around her. She was

willing to try any treatment, however painful or unpleasant it was

going to be. But there was nothing this time that could give her

days, weeks or years.

During the last few weeks, Aria read a book with her dad. It was

called “Hinds’ Feet on High Places.” It’s an allegory about a girl

called Much-Afraid, a girl with disabilities and deformities, who

tries to get to the top of a mountain. She faces her own demons and

those outside. Much-Afraid then goes through a transformation and

realizes that it doesn’t matter whether she gets to the top or not.

She is at peace knowing that God loves her.

Aria saw herself in the pages as they read the book. She asked her

dad: “Is this book about me?”

And he told her: “It’s about all of us.”

During her last few days, she had made peace.

She said: “Whatever happens, happens. If I live, I live. I’m not

going to worry about it.”

Aria had her fears. She learned too early that life is full of

disappointments and rude shocks.

But she talked about it, cried and moved on, as only a child can

do.

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