The Broken Mirror

Chapter 26: A New Skill: Alynne's POV

"Time to go now, isn't it?" I muttered to myself as I packed up the last few possessions of mine that I had brought to the facility. I brought some of my clothes and a few little trinkets of mine but that was really it, so recollecting everything back together for transportation didn't take very long. It was a ten minute job singlehandedly

"Goodbye," I whispered as I exited my small room for the, hopefully, last time. It took a lot of time, blood, sweat, and tears to get where I am now, but it definitely is a sweet victory. I am no longer overtaken by this disease that is among the deadliest mental disorders known to the health world and I was able to kick it in the ass and come back stronger.

On my way out of the facility, I left the last thank-you note in the dietitians' office. If it hadn't been for this wonderful team of medical personnel, I never would have been able to recover and would, most likely, be dead.

"Ready to go now?" Benji asked when I had sat in the front passenger's side of his car, which is a red Nissan Leaf. Never the car I would expect him to get, but oh well. I nodded my head slightly in response, then we were off.

(*)(*)(*)

"Well, we're home now!" Benji exclaimed as we walked through the threshold of the front entry for the first time in months, well, at least for me. I don't know if Benji has paid a visit or two here while I was hospitalized, per say.

"You would not believe how good it feels to be back home," I somewhat moaned as I set my couple boxes on the table and plopped down on the couch.

"I don't think I would be able to," Benji confessed. "Now, what would you like to do?"

"Hmm..." I muttered, in the process of thinking. "Well, I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar."

"Then I will teach you how to play guitar," He agreed as he came over to me, grabbed me by the wrists, and pulled me up from off the couch. He then scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom.

"Why are we coming in here?" I couldn't help myself but question.

"Because my guitars are in here and it has the best acoustics asides from the bathroom and I don't think it would be wise to go in there," Benji explained.

"That would be a good reason," I agreed. He then plopped me down on the bed and proceeded in digging through a closet that could have sworn was empty. I guess I was wrong since he had just pulled out two guitar cases.

"Here you go," He said as he passed me the darker colored of the cases. The one he kept his guitar in was like a leather brown and the color on the one I was handed was almost black.

"Is this a First Act guitar?" I asked upon observation of the guitar that was much smaller in comparison to his own.

"That was my first one and the only other one I have," He confessed. "Do you really think I'd let a beginning player even touch my little Isabelle?"

"You named your guitar Isabelle?"

"Of course I did!" He said. "What else would I name her?"

"Oh, so your guitar is a girl now?" I questioned. "How do you know that?"

"All inanimate objects, especially when owned by a guy, are addressed as female."

"Then why'd you have to name your guitar? Couldn't you just leave it no-name?"

"It's customary to name your guitar," He exclaimed. "As it is to name your guitar. Don't girls always name at least their first car?"

"You've got a point there," I gave in. "Because I did name my first car."

"What did you name it?" Benji inquired.

"Funny enough..." I trailed off. "I named the car Benjamin."

"Oh really? How long did the car last?"

"It lasted me two good whole years."

"Only two years?"

"I lived in Minnesota for a couple years and let me tell you, the winters are rough."

"Then that would be why."

"Exactly."

"Now, back on topic," He stated in attempts to get off of the topic of naming inanimate objects and back to my wanting to learn to play guitar.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Now, what song do you want to learn?" I didn't even need to think for an answer, because I knew exactly what I wanted to learn.

"Yellow by Coldplay," I answered quickly.

"Really?" He double checked. I nodded my head. "Then excuse me for a second while I go try to find a capo."

"What's that?" I questioned as he began to walk away.

"It's a thing you stick on the frets to change the key," He explained. "For this song you need one."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know how to play it and I know you need one for it to sound like the recording."

"What if I don't want it to sound like the recording?"

"Everyone wants their cover to sound like the recording, so yes you do."

Soon enough, Benji reappeared with what looked like a black oversized clothespin.

"That's a capo?" I questioned, not believing that's what one looked like. "It looks like an oversized clothespin to me."

"There are multiple styles of a capo, this kind is just the easiest to use," He informed. "And yes, it does look like an oversized clothespin."

"I knew it!"

"Ha ha, very funny,"I heard him mutter under his breath, seemingly slightly impressed by my comment, at least I think so.

After adjusting the capo onto my guitar, or the one that he's lending me for that matter, he handed it back to me and began to give me oral instruction as to where to put my fingers.

"This is so hard!" I complained at first, this being before I got a slight hang of a technique that would make everything that much easier for me.

"You're doing really well for just having started ten minutes ago!" Benji praised as I strummed a couple of the new chords I had learned. "You've already learned half of the notes and half of the progressions. You're on a roll!"

"Good to know," I commented under my breath, concentrating on placing my fingers in the right position. Ten more minutes later and I was informed that I had learned the whole of the song to the best of my ability, excluding practicing.

"Is it natural for my fingers to feel like they've been dipped in a pot of hot coal?" I questioned, my finger pads felt nothing short of just that.

"The first few times around they will, but when you keep practicing your fingers grow used to it and it doesn't hurt anymore," He answered. "I promise."

"That must be how you can play that damn thing a hundred times a day," I inferred. With what I had just been doing not helping any, Yellow by Coldplay was stuck in my head, so it drove another need into my head.

"Do you know what I'd like to do?"

"What is it that you'd like to do?" Benji returned, curious and unknowing of what my current want was. I bit my lip and smiled slightly.

"I'll go make some popcorn, you go put the disc in," I was instructed. Benji then made a leaping bound off of the bed and into the kitchen. I slowly crept off of the bed and slinked into the living room, sliding my copy of Coldplay Live-2012 off of the shelf and into the DVD player.

As soon as the popcorn was all ready, the concert was started, surround sound was on, and I was cuddled up against Benjamin's side, for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"It is so good to be back home."