Author's Note: Hi! I'm Dee, and this is my second fanfiction on (the other is "Mere Chance: An Ezria Fanfiction"). I've toyed with this concept since I began getting into the glorious realm of writing fanfiction based on "Pretty Little Liars," and I think I've finally gotten it where I feel comfortable publishing it. Yes, it's cliche (not everything I write is this way, I promise!). So, I hope you enjoy.

Almost two decades.

Nineteen years.

6,940 days.

Too long.

June 17, 2031

The pixie's short, wavy auburn-colored hair whipped in the sticky sweet Bostonian summer breeze which entered the room freely through the open window in her bedroom, therefore getting all in her face, annoying her and ruining her lipstick. She sighed and began thinking about what the heck she might've been thinking when she decided to keep this annoyingly short haircut after Charlotte's unexpected-yet-completely-expected barber shop moment in the Dollhouse almost two decades ago. Seriously. Was she just stupid, or did she never learn about bad connotations?

She heard short heels clicking on the marble floor downstairs, and she remembered what she was doing before she began reminiscing about the horrific things of her past. She sighed again, this time with more confidence, and began rummaging through the plastic bin on the wood floor of her bedroom, until she found at last what she had been searching for the last two hours of her life. She held them up proudly in triumph before laying them gently on the bed.

Her head whipped around at the sound of her name, and she took to her feet once again and sauntered down the hallway to the stairs where a highly irate young woman stood tapping her heel against the floor in an attempt to tell her mother that something, or someone, was annoying her.

Aria's name hadn't been "Aria" in over ten years. The collection of names she had adopted as her own ranged from a child's angry cries of the word "mom" to a cunning little voice trying to take full advantage of her obvious gullibility with a sweet-sounding version of the word "mommy".

She began to playfully mock her teenage daughter by mimicking her actions of annoyance which, apparently, was the wrong thing to do. Nonetheless, it got her to laugh. What actually forced the smile on her daughter's face, however, was completely unknown to Aria. It was either her feigned look of ire or her height that did the deed, but it didn't matter. Her job here was done.

"Mom?" She asked, trying to remember what she was so angry about before her mother decided to take advantage of her inability to contain laughter.

"What. Do. You. Need. Your. Highness? She asked cynically. This made the slim girl in front of her giggle even more intensely, and what a sweet sound it was to hear her baby girl laugh again. She could do this all day.

"Seriously, Mom. Where's my phone?" The girl asked, trying her hardest to maintain a serious expression.

"I'm holding it hostage until I see that you're clean, dressed and ready to go." The much shorter woman replied. Although her daughter stood at an impressive height of 5 feet 7 inches, Aria definitely held the conch in that house. "We have two hours, and I know for a fact that it takes you at least a half an hour to pick out an outfit. So, get going!"

"I'm not three, Mom. You don't have to babysit me. And I seriously don't get it. I'll be wasting an outfit! What's the point of me dressing up and getting all pretty just to cover up my fantastic fashion sense with a hideous robe as soon as we get there?!" She rambled, obviously overwhelmed and highly irascible. That girl is definitely a worrier.

"Can you breathe, please? You're turning a light periwinkle and it's scaring me." Aria began, shifting her weight to her dominant leg. "I mean, if it's such a hassle for you to graduate, Miss Legally Blonde, I guess we don't have to go." Aria stated. Although this was a tactic used by her professors when she was attending college, it worked wonders in the Montgomery house. And, just as she had expected, she folded.

"Nope. I'm going." Eleanoire retorted, brushing past her mother to her bedroom. As she listened to her heels clicking on the floor behind her, Aria knew that she had won that round; and she raised a fist silently in triumph of yet another mother-daughter battle.

Aria spun around on her toes and began walking down the hallway once again. All the doors were closed, but when loud pop music coming from only one possible source began vibrating the floorboards, she knocked on the door with a smirk, hoping to catch him in his forgetfulness. But, to her surprise, she was wrong.

As the door opened and the music quieted down, Aria gasped at the sight of her son who is usually one of the most forgetful people on the planet, fully dressed and standing in the doorway to taunt her.

"Well, look at this." She murmured as she squinted her eyes so as to appear more...authoritative. She was very short, and he very tall, and after he nearly towered over her by a full foot, she had ceased trying. Her son just laughed in response to his mother's attempt at intimidating him, because he knew that he had won this battle before it had even begun.

"What?" He began as he leaned slightly on the door and kicked his right foot over his left one, ruining his perfect posture. "Were you planning on catching me in a lie?"

"Nope. I was just curious as to your progress in the delicate world of dressing yourself. Did you know that I had to dress you for school up until age twelve?" She mocked. He just feigned offense to his mother's snarky comment.

She extended her arm to straighten the blazer her son was wearing and tightened his tie as well. He laughed at her over-obsessive compulsive disorder that he knew he had also gotten from her side of the family and brushed his hair to the back of his head once again, flattening his cowlick before feeling it shoot up again.

He looked just like his father. His thin lips twisted into a smile and his bright cerulean eyes squinted as he chuckled. As a toddler, Ira's hair was incredibly curly and unruly. As he got older, however, it lost some of the frizziness. Aria was relieved, not only because she would no longer have to straighten her son's hair, but because he looked a little less like his father, and it was easier to eye him without wanting to burst into tears. Now, she didn't know if it was his broad shoulders, high cheekbones or his astonishing height of 5 feet 11 inches (given her height, that was more than impressive), but he definitely resembled Ezra. He smiled so much, the corners of his eyes now resembled his father's unmistakable crows feet, and the way he folded his hands in his lap mid-discussion even reminded her of his father, her former lover.

And that was enough to make her cry.

"Mom," He began as he sensed her tears and pulled her into a hug, which required him to bend over slightly so he would only be a little taller than she, "don't cry."

"Ira, I am so proud of you, and your sister. And your father would be, too." She whispered as she hugged him, her only son, who was getting ready to graduate out of her life. Then, sensing that she was getting too lachrymose, sidetracked to teasing him playfully again. "You know, I would say that you're going to make a woman very happy someday, but..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. I survived friggin' Catholic school, so I think I deserve some props." He replied with a chuckle as he hugged his mother again.

She had always supported her son completely. In fact, she was the one who noticed the signs before he did. Actually, that was his Aunt Emily, who also happened to be married to his Aunt Alison. But, same thing. His mother and her friends were all so similar, the height difference was the only noticeable difference between the five women.

"I agree. You are going to make a fantastic journalist, hon. And when you find the man of your dreams, you'd better call me. I remarried your grandparents, you know."

"Of course I will. Thanks, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Ira. To the moon and back. Oh, and there's a button missing on that blazer. Please change it, unless you want to give me a heart attack." She replied as she sauntered down the hallways once again. She heard him chuckle as he closed the door, and she smiled. Mission accomplished.

Although she looked happy, she felt so empty inside. Her babies, her world, were leaving her. Aria Montgomery had been wholly devoted to her twins since she first held them in her arms, and she didn't know what she was going to do once she was left all alone in this seemingly huge house. She worked full time at her office in Boston, but never had she been completely alone. Ever.

A feigned happiness had only limited effect on her children, though. She mothered them their whole lives, and to them, she was merely a translucent window when it came to emotions: they saw right through her.

She walked into her bedroom and sat down on the bed beside the two sweatshirts she had bought for her children when she found out what schools they had been accepted into.

Although she didn't like the idea of her little boy moving to that town, she had to admit: Hollis College is a wonderful school. And even more surprisingly, Eleanoire had gotten into UPenn on an almost full scholarship, an opportunity she had previously only expected Ira to obtain. To be fair, he had also been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania amongst a dozen other schools, but the idea of possibly sharing a dorm room with his twin sister didn't appeal to him for obvious reasons.

Aria picked up the sweatshirt which sat to the left of her small frame and ran her fingers over the logo on the front. Hollis College had very unfortunate connotations for her, but there's no reason why her son shouldn't get to enjoy the iconic atmosphere of Rosewood, unlike she did.

A suitcase sat by the door, stuffed beyond belief with clothes and books and various other paraphernalia that she knew for a fact she wouldn't need for a week in Rosewood, but couldn't find a reason not to bring them. After the twin's graduation ceremony, the trio would hop in the car and drive to the town which, in case you were wondering, still looks exactly the same as before. Maybe a difference in the air after Charlotte's death, but that's all.

"Mom..." She heard a voice calling her from the doorway, releasing her from the grasp of her thoughts and daydreams. She turned her head around slowly to reveal Eleanoire, in a stunning outfit that took even Aria's breath away.

She wore an ultramarine mid-length dress and high black heels. Her makeup was definitely more Spencer Hastings' style, but her hair was twisted into a messy bun at the back of her head, and her jewelry was enough to throw Aria hurdling back into the world of high school when her fashion sense was unaltered by mom jeans and pencil skirts. Not saying that Aria Montgomery lost her spunky sense of fashion, because she hadn't. Her earrings still consist of feathers and beads, and she mixes patterns more than she uses the mixing bowl.

She wasn't sure if it was the dozens of bangles stacked on each arm, the six rings on each hand or the sapphire pendant necklace (a gift from her grandparents on her fifteenth birthday) she was wearing around her fair neck, one that framed her face elegantly and accentuated her collar bones beautifully, that really made her realize it, but nonetheless Eleanoire was a spitting image of her mother.

And Aria couldn't have been prouder.

"Oh, honey. You look absolutely stunning." She breathed, taking her daughter's hand as she stood up to meet her in the center of the room. Eleanoire just smiled and fixed a strand of loose hair behind her ear before speaking.

"You talk like a mom." She replied with a giggle. Aria just smirked playfully back and hugged her.

"Thank you, babe." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, who was no longer the baby girl she remembered swaddling in blankets and rocking to sleep late at night so clearly.

"Okay. Can't. Breathe."

"Sorry. I just don't ever want to let you or your brother go. Seriously, when you leave, it'll be like you're taking a part of me with you." Aria sadly admitted to her daughter who had grown to become the most beautiful, smart and talented young woman she had ever met. She took pride in the both of them.

"I didn't say you couldn't come and visit me! UPenn isn't that far away!" Eleanoire exclaimed happily in an attempt to brighten her mother's spirits.

"Yeah. And I expect you to be on call in case I need a sandwich or something."

Aria turned around suddenly to reveal her son leaning against the door with a smile. She wanted to cry. Ira looked so much like his father. He had Ezra's laugh and his smile, and those eyes of his! They were exact replicas of her former lover's. She feigned offense to his comment, and shook her head jokingly.

"Just who do you think I am?" She asked dramatically as she walked over to hug him. "And just how do you expect said sandwich to get to you? Should I FedEx that tuna sandwich without the crust to you, or drive it up there myself?"

"I think you're the strongest and most wonderful mother a man could ever ask for. And you make the world's best sandwich." He replied. "And I'd rather you bring it to me. So you can visit."

That set her over the edge, and she ran into his arms and began crying. He just held her there, obviously shocked at how fragile she had become in a matter of seconds. Aria came to her senses after a moment, and stepped away from her little boy. She held his hand in hers and wiped away tears with her other hand. Soon, Eleanoire joined the group huddle and Aria hugged her children and held them there for awhile.

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?" She muttered into her daughter's bare shoulder. They both pulled out of the tight embrace their mother held them in out of confusion and cocked their heads to the right in sync.

"What brilliant scholar said that?" Eleanoire asked before Ira got the chance. Aria laughed to herself before answering.

"Your Aunt Spencer, who just so happens to be one of the most brilliant scholars I have ever met." She replied.

"Actually, I think Winnie the Pooh said that." Ira added.

"True. But don't tell that to your aunt." She said as she straightened her son's tie and fixed her daughter's dress strap. "Come on, you two. It's time for you to grow up. In the car!"

"Can I drive?" Eleanoire asked as they walked down the marble staircase. Ira and Aria whipped their heads around in shock. Eleanoire was, quite literally, the WORST driver Aria had ever seen. It was a miracle that she even passed her drivers test!

"NO." They both replied.

After an emotional afternoon at the school, Aria and her children began driving to the town she knew so well, yet still felt she knew nothing about. Rosewood was stitched together with lies and secrets, and intertwined in those lies were jigsaw puzzle pieces of the truth. You just had to know what the picture on the front of the box was. Aria and her clan, however, hadn't been that lucky. Sometimes, it's best to set the puzzles down and walk away.

The car bumped along the road, making Ira carsick and Eleanoire glad she had a full playlist and a half to listen to on her phone. Although her children had just graduated, they hadn't changed very much in her eyes. She could still see that childish spark of imagination and hope in her son's eyes when his assumption of whodunnit on the "brand new" old movie she had brought home happened to be correct or when he came home after thinking that he had completely bombed a test and found, in the grade book, a much-deserved "A". Ira was and would always be her baby boy, and Eleanoire her baby girl. It didn't matter how high of heels she had to wear to prevent her children from completely towering over her; she would always have the memories of holding their hands as they stood shakily between her knees and began to take their first steps and trying to get them to say their first words a second time for the camera to hold on to.

"Mom?" Eleanoire asked, breaking the silence that had filled the car for the first hour of the drive. Aria turned her head to make eye contact before returning her eyes to the road.

"Eleanoire?" She replied.

"In Rosewood, when we're there, what will happen if we see him?"

At that moment, Aria's hands grew shaky and her knees became weak. It was only once in a blue moon that either of het children ever asked about their father, and she had expected them to ask at least once on this trip. But, his name was like poison to her.

"Well, as much as I doubt we'll see him there, you'll know who he is when or if you happen to stumble upon him. His face is one you can't forget." Aria sighed. Good answer, she thought. They won't ask anymore questions. Unluckily for her, though, her daughter was heading off to law school in a couple weeks. And she had a lot of questions that needed a lot of answers.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Eleanoire asked. She was eager for more information. She craved it. Knowledge for that girl was like a drug. Maybe she shouldn't have let Spencer babysit her so much.

"What is up with you and giving me the third degree?" Aria snapped back playfully, smirking to herself. After not getting a condescending response from her daughter, she sighed and answered her question.

"When you and Ira were almost five years old. We didn't talk much. I told him to get going on the book he was writing, he gave one of his annoyingly familiar snarky replies, and I came home after Charlotte's death." She said, remembering that Ira had fallen asleep and couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Does he know about us? Does he know that he has children? What's his name?" The petite girl in the backseat asked eagerly. Aria just rolled her eyes and frowned slightly.

"No further questions, Your Honor." She replied sarcastically. After turning her head back to look at Eleanoire who was, unfortunately, not going to back down until she got some answers, she reluctantly sighed and began speaking again. "To answer your question, no. No, your father doesn't know about you or your brother. And I'd like it to stay that way, thank you very much. I called that asshole hundreds of times, left countless voicemails, including one of me asking if he'd like to meet his children while I was in the hospital, recovering from a C-section, alone, and I am still 99.99% positive that he was balking my number. As for his name, I would rather not give it to you. I'm sorry, Eleanoire, but I don't want you or your brother playing Nancy Drew while you're supposed to be visiting family."

After a long pause, the brunette in the back finally spoke again. But, she probably wished she hadn't.

"My father is part of my family." She whispered. Aria definitely heard her, and she had to really try to contain her anger.

"No. He. Is. Not." She replied, clutching the steering wheel with all her strength. The deep emphasis her mother had put on the final word of her answer was enough to scare her back into silence. Aria breathed heavily, apologized to her daughter, and celebrated her victory in silence.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked chapter one of "Echoes From the Past!" If you enjoyed it, I'd love to know. Also, if you have any recommendations, chapter ideas, adjustments that need to be made, or constructive criticism, feel free to send me a PM or write a review. I love getting your feedback:)

-Dee (ezriaandliars)