Julia Heartilly Julia Heartilly is a non - player character in " Final Fantasy VIII " . A famous Galbadia n pianist turned singer , she is Laguna Loire ' s love interest and Rinoa Heartilly ' s mother . Julia sings the game ' s theme song , " Eyes On Me " , which is a song dedicated to Laguna . Profile . Appearance . Julia is a tall , pale young woman with shoulder - length dark hair tucked behind her ears . She wears a long red spaghetti strap / halterneck satin dress with a split up the left side , a gold cuff on her left wrist , and black high - heels with criss - crossing straps . Personality . Julia is kind , shy , reserved and benign . Despite wanting to get to know Laguna , she waited for him to express interest first before approaching him , and later does not interrupt him despite Laguna getting carried away and talking away for hours . She has a passion for music and singing , but is unsure of her abilities and is seeking for inspiration to give her the courage to break out of her role as a lounge pianist . Story . Although brief and likely never consummated , Laguna and Julia ' s relationship plays a major role in the theme of destiny , a central theme for " Final Fantasy VIII " . Although circumstances kept Julia and Laguna apart their love was reconciled through the romantic involvement of their children , Rinoa ( Julia ' s daughter ) and Squall ( Laguna ' s son ) . Little is known of Julia ' s early life , other than her passion for music . By the time she reached young adulthood , Julia performed regularly as a pianist in the downstairs lounge of the Galbadia Hotel in Deling City . Popular for her beauty almost as much as for her music , Julia enjoyed performing but longed to break out of her role as a mute bar room pianist ; despite her talent for the piano , Julia ' s true dream was to sing . When Julia was 22 years old , she met Galbadian soldier Laguna Loire . Laguna and his friends , Kiros and Ward , would frequent the hotel ' s bar room when off - duty , and Laguna was captivated by her . He returned to the bar night after night to watch her perform from the shadows , too embarrassed to speak to her . Although Laguna doubted anyone as beautiful and talented as Julia would take notice of someone like him , Julia harbored a crush on her " secret " admirer . One evening , Laguna worked up enough nerve to speak to Julia , and Julia invited him up to her room . The pair opened up to one another ; Laguna confided in Julia his dream of quitting the military and becoming a journalist , and Julia told Laguna her wish to write and perform her own songs . She wanted to sing , but never knew what to write a song about . In meeting Laguna , Julia said she had found her inspiration . Their time together ended when Kiros informed Laguna they had been called away on an important mission . Julia was saddened Laguna had to leave just when they had gotten to know each other , but he promised he would return after his mission was complete . Julia waited for Laguna to return , but never heard from him again . Julia was comforted by Fury Caraway who encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter . Julia wrote , " Eyes On Me " , a romantic ballad about Laguna , and it became a hit all over Galbadia . Julia and Caraway married , and built a life together in Deling City . They had a daughter , Rinoa , and Caraway advanced his position within the military to become the head general , while Julia continued to write and perform songs . Their happiness was shattered a some years later when Julia was killed in an automobile accident , when she was 28 years old , and Rinoa was 5 . This tragedy became the start of the estrangement between her daughter and her husband . Musical themes . Julia plays a rendition of " Eyes on Me " on the piano at Galbadia Hotel . The track is named " Julia " and is included as the 20th track in Disc 1 of the . This piano version of " Eyes on Me " can be heard again at the hotel in Shumi Village . The track is rearranged by Takeharu Ishimoto as a song in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " , and is also included in the soundtrack . It is used as Laguna ' s world map theme . " Eyes on Me " is the vocal theme of " Final Fantasy VIII " and the theme for Squall and Rinoa ' s romance . Etymology . Julia is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julius . The name may have been chosen due to sounding similar to a character from William Shakespeare ' s famous play , " " , whose title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers today . The play is mentioned once in the game in reference to Laguna , albeit this is easily missed ; during Squall ' s time he can speak to a woman in the Timber train station who mentions she once almost fell on the tracks in front of an incoming train , but a Galbadian soldier ( Laguna ) saved her , and refers to the situation like something from " Romeo and Juliet " .