He tickled the keys gently with his frail fingers. The piano made a soft eerie noise as the stage began to gradually illuminate. What was once a faint silhouette of a figure was now a slender, tall man, with rather long arms, seated in front of the instrument. He leaned forward into the piano, his head hanging low, like a crumpled corpse. Dressed in a black tailcoat and polished leather shoes, Sebastian Talles was performing yet another one of his masterpieces.
He shot up all of a sudden; his hair flew back in an overly dramatic way, revealing a rather solemn expression on his face. He didn’t dare touch the keys. His chest rose up as he took a deep breath in and sunk back into his lean body as he breathed out.
He started playing. He pressed the keys lightly at first, creating a rather haunting tune. He continued playing, gradually building up the pace. No sooner were his hands digging into the piano. He played with deep passion and emotion as the crowd watched in a rather hypnotic awe. He played beautifully. He played on and on and on.
A loud round of applause echoed in the halls of the auditorium. Talles gracefully made his way to the centre of the stage. The applause got louder and louder with every move he made. Taking a bow, it was rather evident how proud Sebastian was with his composition, The Silent Night Op. 132. He stood up and gazed at the audience. A rather gentle smile of appreciation emerged on his face as his eyes dropped down with happiness, and then, the lights dimmed and the curtains closed.
. . .
He walked down the corridors with a calm stride and a slight skip in his feet. Mirrors lined the walls throughout his house. Mirrors were everywhere: on the ceilings and both sides of the walls, even some parts of the floor were tiled with mirrors. Talles made his way down the long hallways of his grand mansion; his footsteps collided with the others giving out a crisp tip-tap beat. He took a few more steps and stopped after making a right turn. He took two steps forward, then two steps back. Two steps to the right and two to the left. A rhythm of taps filled the atmosphere as he tapped away to another land.
“Sebastian?” A rough voice broke in. The tapping stopped and Sebastian stood still, his head buried in his hands. “How many times, have I told you, not to do that,” Sebastian said, irritation slipping in.
“What the hell were you just doing?”
“I was trying to come up with a new rhythm for my Symphony Op. 10”
“Like that?”
“Like that.”
“I see. How’s it going?”
“Not too good. I just can’t seem to get what I want. The idea, it’s, it’s not flowing in, like it always does.”
“Is that so?”
“I don’t understand. Am I losing it?”
“Losing what?”
Sebastian looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and sorrow. “My talent. I can’t focus. I can’t get my flow, I-”
“Stop”, the voice broke in, yet again. “You’re not losing anything. You are Sebastian Talles. The Sebastian Talles. The world craves your music and nothing will ever change that. You hear me?”
Sebastian nodded, droplets of sweat appearing on his forehead. “Get it together Sebastian. You know very well why your little tapping exercise failed.”
“Why?” Sebastian questioned.
“Because that’s not how you do it. You’ve never done it that way and you never should. You know the best way, and she’s waiting for you in the room.”
“She’s here already?” Sebastian’s face lit up.
“Of course she is! What, you think I would forget? You can’t stop working Sebastian. This symphony isn’t going to compose itself now is it?”
“You’re right. I don’t know why I just lose myself sometimes. I better get to work”, Sebastian said, pulling himself together. “You better”, replied the voice.
Sebastian walked to a room at the end of the corridor. The door was made of solid Chestnut wood and a gold handle stood out. Sebastian grabbed the handle. The door opened with a soft creak. A dim white light illuminated a small table in the corner that had various tools lined up on it. Sebastian reached forward for a drawer beneath the table and pulled out a pair of fresh plastic gloves. He slapped them on and turned to face the centre of the room.
A woman lay strapped onto an armchair with barbed wires. Her clothes were covered in mud and her blonde hair was in a scraggly mess.
“Hello my love”, Sebastian said. “Rough ride?”
YOU ARE READING
You Are My Melody
Mystery / Thriller"You are my melody" is a story about a young piano prodigy, Sebastian Talles, who achieved world fame, without having to sport a shock of white hair. Nobody knows where he came from but everybody loves him. His composition, Silent Night Op. 132, was...
