A found confession by the vanished composer.
Do not mourn me.
I was not stolen.
I was invited.
I was nine years old when i made a wish.
It was my birthday.
Not that anyone remember.
My mother is always busy, she always has tired eyes, cold hands, a voice that said "later" more than "i love you"
My father?
Well, he left before i even learned how to say "goodbye "
So the house was quiet.
The table was empty. No cake, no candles, no birthday song.
Just me and my violin.
It was my father's.
I had learned to play by mimicking the radio.
No one taught me.
But music...music felt like the only voice i had.
When i played, i imagined someone listening.
Not clapping or praising.
But listening.
I would have given anything for that.
That afternoon, i stood alone in our backyard.
Fresh green grass, dense trees and silence.
I took out my violin and whispered,
" if....anyone's here....will you like to listen to my birthday song?"
Silence.
I played.
A simple melody, soft and wistful.
Woven with the kind of loneliness only children would know.
When i finished, i didn't expect an answer.
But it came anyway.
The violin let out a note i didnt play.
A sound too long and deep.
From the dark side of the dense trees, something stood.
Tall and incomplete.
Its limbs hung like curtain ropes.
Its mouth was stitched shut with wires.
It tilted its head. Listening.
Then, in my own voice, it said:
" thank you for the music, Anna"
That was my middle name.
Then, the thing vanished.
I thought it was a dream.
But the next morning, i found something on the table beside my bed.
A birthday card.
Inside it, was a single sentence;
" we heard you, happy birthday "
And beneath it, a bone key.
I....i smiled.
Someone had finally remembered my birthday.
From that say on, i played.
Again.
And again .
And every time i did...they came.
More of them.
They never moved.
Never spoke. But they listen.
With teeth.
So many teeth. Smiling without joy.
And always- always- when i finished, a gift would appear.
A string made of hair.
A jaw of teeth.
A candle that burned without melting.
And always.....a card.
"Keep going little maestra. You are almost ready "
By thirteen, i had written my first symphony.
By fifteen, my second.
By eighteen.....i stopped counting.
People clapped. Cheered. Critics praised my " haunting genius "
But i wasn't playing for them.
I was playing for my real audience.
You see, they had chosen me.
Because i asked. I begged.
Because i was lonely.
Because i wished to be seen.
And with each i played.... i gave them something.
A piece of me.
Of my memory.
Of my mind. My soul.
And in return , they showed me how to
Write for the spaces between worlds.
There was a price of course.
There always is.
I stopped sleeping.
After the age of 22, i stopped aging.
My fingers grew too long for gloves.
My teeth.....started tuning.
But i kept playing.
Because when the curtains rises- when the bow meet string.....i am not alone.
I continued to play for centuries.
Until one day...
I heard a new voice.
Not theirs. Not mine.
A child's.
Her name is Lilli.
She had found my book. My instructions. My legacy.
And she played.
Oh, she played.
So sweet. So beautiful. So sad.
She was better than me.
I watched from the hall of mouths.
She didn't know i was there from the start.
From the moment she stepped into the mesuem.
I smiled.
The audience rose.
The conductor bowed.
And she bled.
Ah, she is just like me.
I know, you think am a monster.
But i was just a girl.
A girl who wanted someone to remember her birthday. Her existence.
A girl who wanted applauses- and never realized it came with teeth.
You wonder why i disappeared?
It wasn't a tragedy or a mystery.
I simply stepped into my own music.
They welcome me.
And in return...i keep them entertain.
I am the first note.
She is the final note.
And soon there will be more.
Oh, so much more.
[End of Confession ]
[Kai returns ]
( he leans back , the candlelight flickering across his goggled eyes)
"Little Garlius didn't bargin with demons.
She didn't summon anything".
(Pause. Voice lower)
"She just wanted to be remembered "
" but the world have her silence."
" so she created her own comfort. In the dark"
[@Enchomay: its always the small wishes that echo the loudest. 'Please stay'. Please love me'. 'Pleace look at me' and the wrong side of the universe answers]
[@Jaija: this was never about music. It was about neglect. She was born in silence. Raised by loneliness. Taught by monsters. Of course she became a maestra ]
[@Oviesix: so Garlius became the first note? Does that means she's the one pulling the strings on Lilli?]
[@Enchomay: it could be, but i doubted it was only her]
[@Oviesix: my sister used to play piano in an empty room too. Now i can't stop wondering who was listening ]
( kai nods slowly)
" The most powerful spell in existence is a child whispering 'i wish'.
Especially when no one answers"
" After all, neglect isn't loud.
Its slow. It doesn't scream.
It sings".
( he looks at the screen)
" so if someone ever asks to be seen....
To be heard....
Don't look away.
Because if you do, they might be something else that listens".
(He lifts the old birthday card)
" the final movement is still unfinished.
But let's tune down the volume.....and tune in to something quieter"
( he sets aside the card and holds up a child's scribbled journal, the name "DAVID" written in crayon)
Next time; The Little Boy Who Ate Sleep.
A story of a child who was too scared to dream.....
And learned how to steal rest from others.
( he smiles faintly)
"Close your eyes...and he might just be there already "
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