𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐏𝐒𝐄 | 𝐬.𝐡.

(𝟎𝟎𝟎)

  LORELEI KELLER vividly remembered the first guitar she had ever gotten. It had been her birthday, and she was turning eight years old. Her father had walked through the doors of the house, his eyes tired from work - but the moment he saw her, a bright grin came onto his face and he showed her a large box he was hiding behind his back. 

  When she had opened it, Lorelei had been faced with a small guitar - the smallest she had ever seen, and her eyes lit up. It was everything to her; with its red finish atop the smooth oak wood base. The other girls at her birthday party that night had all scrunched up their faces at the gift, wondering why on earth David Keller had not simply gotten his daughter a doll or something of the sort. But to Lorelei, it was the best gift she had ever received.

  Long after her mother had gone to sleep, Lorelei and her father had stayed up together, listening to an old rock mixtape and playing guitar together. David had always raised his daughter as if she were a future rock star - maybe it was the fact that he had always wished for musical success himself, or maybe it was just the fact that ever since she was a child, Lorelei seemed to gravitate towards the rock and roll records in her fathers' collection. He owned his own guitar, having gotten one after saving for months when he was a teenager - a black fender guitar. 

  And judging by the way Lorelei was grinning as she plucked the strings of her new toy guitar, David guessed he would be buying an official guitar for his daughter soon enough.

  Lorelei had spent the entirety of the year trying to master the guitar, and she could no longer count how many times her mother had complained of her constant playing in passing. Still, the effort had paid off, since, by the time Lorelei turned nine years old, she had learned every aspect of her guitar.

  It had started to serve as a comfort to her, whenever Lorelei had a terrible day, she would go home after school, shut the door of her bedroom, and play her guitar whilst she waited for her father to come home from work. It seemed as though she could submerge herself into the world of the song she was playing. Magical. That was the only word she could use to describe the feeling of when she closed her eyes, moved her fingers along the strings of the guitar, and allowed the music to overcome her.

  When her parents had started to fight - with Kennedy Keller scolding her husband for being late to dinner once more, or David Keller shouting back that he was the one who had to support everyone, she would plug in her mixtape, grab her father's guitar, since hers was starting to become much too small for her and dissolve into a world of rock.

  It seemed silly, but the more she grew, the more it felt like big names such as David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Steven Tyler could understand what she was feeling without even knowing of her pitiful existence.

  She had started to use her father's guitar during the times he would spend at work, and of course, David never minded, in fact, it brought him great pride to see his daughter paying such mind to something that was so important to him. 

  When the divorce was announced, Lorelei could only remember the numbness she felt, having expected it long ago. But then the most shocking part came into play, her mother was leaving, and Lorelei scolded herself for not having noticed the packed bags which had been placed in front of the door.

  She had cried that night, wondering what she had done wrong so that her mother - the very person who was meant to love her the most, had chosen to leave her. David Keller, unsure of what to do to ease his sixteen-year-old daughter's pain, grabbed a Beatles record, placed it atop the turntable, and raised the volume to its maximum. Lorelei initially ignored to songs, but once "Hey Jude" started playing, she raised herself off her bed, left her room, and wandered over to her father in order to give him a large hug.

  As if the divorce and Kennedy Keller leaving were not enough, her father soon informed her that he had bought a house in Hawkins, Indiana and they would be moving there in hopes of a fresh start. Lorelei had laughed at first, having not even heard of the town before, but once she realized he was speaking the truth, the girl had left the dinner table and shut herself in her room to the sound of Billy Joel.

  The next morning, David Keller knocked on her door, and once a reluctant Lorelei opened it, her eyes widened as she saw the new guitar in his hands. This one was full size, a fender no less, with red paint that gleamed with a few sparkles. Her father explained everything about Hawkins, telling her that everything would work out and it was an 'adventure.' Still unconvinced, Lorelei started him down with narrowed eyes, but as she realized that he really was trying to make her happy, she grabbed the guitar, nodded her head and smiled at him.

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