Tantamount

We Need to Talk

Song: You - Petit Biscuit

The sound of kids laughing filled my ears slowly inviting me back to consciousness. Even at my grumpy state, I smiled a little bit, happy that they were happy. My limping body headed to the kitchen and was greeted by some of the women that resided in houses nearby. 

"(y/n)! good morning sweetie! We made you breakfast and tea."

They all served my food and I thanked them. I often forgot to eat and drink water so they had made it their job to keep me fed or otherwise I would seriously starve.

"Thanks, guys. You are all the best"

"(y/n)! after you're done we need to change those bandages." 

"Yes ma'am" 

They smiled and continue cleaning and making breakfast for all the kids and the rest of the residents. Whenever we had enough food they would cook for the whole street and if it was possible they gave food to people in other streets. Everyone around us respected us and kept our little base a secret knowing other gangs would wanted to hurt us and whenever we could we helped our neighbors with whatever they needed. 

"Where's Mike?" 

"Oh! He left a note for you. Here you go" Karla said as she handed me the note. I smiled at her and opened the note. 

Dear idiot, 

I know we agreed to lay low but we were a bit short on money. I found a small simple job in the Market street and I should be back by midday. If I'm not back by midday I probably screwed up. 

With love

-M

I let out a sigh and rubbed my temples 'You better not get hurt, Mike'. I finished my breakfast and headed to a backroom. Karla helped me change all my bandages and she went back to the kitchen. This room was my favorite in the building. It was quite big and often the kids would use it to play. But most importantly it had a piano on it, this was a rare thing to have at the underground and when we found it it was in bad shape, but Mike and I slowly fixed it and finally one day we heard its majestic melody. I've taught myself to play the piano ever since and everyone loved it. The kids entered the room playing one of those crazy games I never really understood and upon noticing my presence they all begged for me to play something. I laughed at their whining "okay okay I'll play something"

I sat down on the bench and began playing some keys. Once I decided what I was going to play I let the music take control.

Song: To build a home - The cinematic orchestra

There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls and window sills
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home 'Cause, I built a home
For you
For me Until it disappeared
From me
From youAnd now, it's time to leave and turn to dustOut in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed it's knees By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
I held on as tightly as you held onto me And, I built a home
For you
For me Until it disappeared
From me
From you And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust

As I finished the song the kids stared at me with wide happy eyes and the women in the kitchen had entered the room, their eyes were closed and evident smiles dance on their features. The rest of the morning I spent it playing with the kids and helping out around the street with house things like cleaning. The residents always rejected needing my help, especially when they knew I was hurt but I didn't listen to them, they always said 'But (y/n) you do so much for us, please don't bother ' but little did they know helping them made me happy, it gave me a slight sense of normalcy and I knew some of them needed the help considering they had conditions or weren't able to carry heavy things. As midday came my anxiety returned and I grew impatient waiting for Mike to return but he was nowhere to be seen.