Ava has lived a long and happy – well, happy-ish life. Born in 1935, the youngest of eight children, her family had left Spain just before the rise of Fascism and moved to Britain, where her mother gave dance lessons to children while her father opened a butcher shop. She enjoyed her childhood in the countryside, and although she lost an older brother to the War, her life remained relatively untroubled. She married her childhood sweetheart, and settled down as a housewife, raising three children and spending her time on her hobby of sewing and clothes-making.

This all changed, however, during the late 60s. She discovered feminism in time to ditch her husband, who had become foul-tempered and resentful of her flirtatious nature, and took her children to live in London, where like her mother, she taught dance to pay the bills while increasingly becoming known for her dressmaking. Eventually a friend gave her enough money to start a boutique in Chelsea, where she sold her clothes to an elite clientele. She never remarried, preferring to keep her relationships non-committal. She however doted on her family and was proud of her seven grandchildren.

When she turned 75, she moved into the Shady Acres Retirement Home in the rolling hills of the English Countryside and commanded that her family visit her once a week – which they did without complaint, as they love her stories and her quick wit. She’s a popular member of the retirement home because she still loves to dance. When the Flight Deities blessed the Home, she became a beautiful and fiery Skydancer, emotional and loving, still happy to dance and wearing her bright plumage – and dark moments of her past – on her very skin. Like all other members of the Home, she transforms back into her human self for her family’s visitations – but she longs to show them her wondrous life close to the Sea.