"Write the Story" Short Stories

A Strange Request at a Piano Bar

It has been a late night, and El was about to call it a night so he could go home and finished his physics homework. However, just as he was about to head out, a young woman stumbled into the lobby. Her gait was awkward, almost as if she had sprained her ankle.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" he asked as she fell into one of the chairs closest to the piano
"Yes, of course. Just another high school controversy at the carnival," she began to ramble as El caught a hint of sassafras on her person.

"Was it because of a boy?" he inquired. She laughed. "It's always because of a boy, isn't it?" she replied. He couldn't argue with that logic.

"What happened?" She sighed. "Well, I was on a date with my boyfriend, and I stopped really quick to bob for some apples. I came back up, and the first thing I saw was Ted making out with Alyssa Peterman." She scoffed, while pulling out a gorgeous red apple out of her jacket pocket. "At least I've still got the apple."

As juvenile as the topic seemed to him, El still felt bad for the woman. "I'm really sorry," he said. "I wish there was something that I could do."
"Oh no, it's okay. It was probably for the best.

"Actually," she added, "there is something you can do."

He asked, "What is it?" She lowered her mask and paused for a moment. "Could you play Moonlight Sonata?" she asked. "You know, by Beethoven."

He smiled. "Of course," he said as he began to play the melody on the piano. He looked over at her and saw her smile—genuinely—for the first time that night. She twirled the charm bracelet on her wrist, filled with oxidized reminders of losses and regrets. For a few minutes, however, the two of them forgot all that plagued them and lost themselves in the music.

As he played the final note on the piano keys,  El closed his eyes for a second and sighed. "By the way," he started, "I never got your-

He was surprised to see that the woman had disappeared and he was alone.

-name..."