Whistle in the Woods | Teen Fic✔️

6 : Ache

The next morning, after two hours of math, Meldei found the director when he was exiting the office.

"What were you doing back there?" he said after she explained the situation.

"Something happened and my friend ran back there to cry," she replied. She'd told the same story to the Principal once. "But everything is fine. We accidentally dropped it through the window. Could you please make an exception?"

After a moment of weighing something, he finally went toward a particular drawer in his office and produced a thin set of keys, which Meldei accepted.

"Remember to lock the door and bring the keys right back," he told her. "And also shut the window."

"I will. Thank you."

Meldei quickly headed out. Since it was Saturday and there were only some students attending extra classes, the terrace felt overflowing and empty and far. Her cheeks were chilled by the time she got to the very back of the campus.

There was nothing there save for that one isolated building near the zinc gate. First a storage unit, the Principal, later on, used it for dance rehearsals done annually for Khmer new year celebration.

After several attempts, Meldei slid the last key into the padlock—and turned.

The air smelled like dust as she stepped in, thick and musty, and her shoes left footprints on the dusty floor. Pretty much of the room was bare, except for a heap of objects lining the wall near the window. Meldei spotted the plastic bag that Nika threw in almost right away.

She bent down to hurriedly remove the tissues and junk and finally felt a hold of something solid—solid and whole. Her body sagged in relief.

In the soft light, the jade was like green fluid swirling between a narrow glass that blossomed delicately at the top before thinning down to a point. As she examined for cracks the hair stick glimmered cold and almost unbreakable.

Satisfied, Meldei kept it safely in her bag and stood with the bag of trash. The room would turn pitch black if she shut the window, so she left it ajar. Upon closer look, the pile of things beside it turned out to be...musical instruments.

Traditional music instruments. Placed side by side and covered with a rag that barely prevented dust from powdering them. As she observed, there seemed to be enough instruments to assemble an orchestra. Last year's performances must've been livened by these.

Pausing, she reached out to brush a finger across a stringed instrument, and gasped when it sounded.

She eventually got to the left corner, where a tall, angular object was completely draped over by another cloth. Meldei caught the fabric and swiped it aside. And regretted instantly as dust motes went spiraling up out of control. She sneezed—and sneezed again until she covered her face with a hand, stepping back.

It took a minute for the dust to settle. Meldei lowered her hands. Her breath caught when she saw what lay beneath.

The brown piano was so glossy and vivid that it may as well be red in the dimness. As she moved closer she found herself staring back through the surface. It must've been made from some incredibly expensive wood, she thought, for every inner detail was naked to the eye. The dark stripes along the wood were like smoke spiraling from the twirling knots, rich and beautiful.

Youhei's hair shared the same vividness when she saw him that day at the lake, when he turned and the sunlight touched his face. Then she thought what a weird moment to remember him suddenly.

Reluctantly, Meldei lifted the piano board, revealing the keyboard underneath, white and black shinning in dustless splendor. She'd been around a piano back in middle school, but that was the extent of it.