A Willow's Awakening To Reality

Taped Glass

Days went by and by as fast as they could, and Willow spent them all on thinking. His mind was flooded with thoughts on the life he had once lived and gave to his children that now could not be fixed. He turned to the room beside the kitchen and opened the door to see a dusty piano that had not been touched in years, it was lonely and looked like it had not seen light in years. All kept inside in a dark room shut down, Willow looked at it and stared at it, remembering how he kept playing it nonstop, and picturing figures of Stephanie, Mitchell, Marcus, and Miles, all in the same position. Miles and Mitchell were playing the piano together, he listened to the sweet melody of theirs and smiled softly, and so was Stephanie who was holding onto the piano and swinging her head around and humming to the melody and laughing as she noticed Marcus who was reading a book was annoyed, trying to focus on his book yet distracted by the beauty of the melody and the comfortable sensation of being with them.

All of them had torn apart as the melody had paused and he saw his children in the same position as his friends, yet Mitchell was missing. Willow met with their scared eyes that showed no trust to Willow. He then walked to them slowly in silence, then embraced them without consent. They looked at him with confusion and fear, the negative memories took over their hearts and never expected him to mean his actions. Though, he did.

 

They had never expected softness coming from him, nor did they expect an apology, they still saw no heart in him. Believing it was an ego that had taken over the hole in his heart, until Mylo and Lily had noticed how he had been more protective of them, and taking care of them more, making sure they were healthy and okay. Not that he thought that it would fix it, he hoped that it would at least change something. Mildred stayed in fear of what he was expecting, which was always the same violence.

The more hours passed, the less they expected violence from Willow, yet nothing could change the pain he had caused and would not be taped with an apology. Willow sat down with the three children to be met with a silence from them, and became a space until he spoke himself, and hugged them to apologize.

"Why would you ever think that we would forgive you?" Mylo asked dryly, not to mimic Willow's tone but to mimic the only way his heart could speak out trauma. "I never asked for forgiveness, I know I do not deserve it either, but I must apologize for all that I have caused. I feel guilty." Mylo, Lilac, and Mildred listened to him as he said that he was guilty, so dryly that it never crossed their minds as what he had said was true, nothing that came out of Willow's mouth was ever true to them, yet as a small and soft of a mind Mildred had, that was so sensitive and vulnerable to love, he believed Willow, and forgave, but kept silent about his feelings.

It had been unexplainable how slow days had been going for Willow, and yet he wished they would go a lot faster. Tiredness and boredom had taken over him so aggressively he did not know what he was doing or thinking. Therefore, he tried to be still and clear, and went outside for what it felt like a lifetime long that he had not seen the sun or grass itself. Neither has he seen his friends at all, he never forgot them either. He took a few steps outside and listened as his footsteps made

 

A funny sound that felt cold as well since it had rained yesterday. He looked down at the grass and at his feet that were both in a grayish color, nothing was ever bright to him again, not as bright as that woman. Mitchell, who had always made those same sounds in the grass, yet faster as she ran around to Stephanie whenever she visited. Willow paused outside of the house and sat down to stare at the sky, with his imagination flowing with thoughts of Mitchell. He thought and thought about her until all was left was her in the sky, playing a parody of the piano piece Willow had been working on for days. It never made him feel lonely as he knew somebody else felt how he felt inside, which was the piano itself, and he saw how magnificent and elegant she played it, in such a touching tone, repeatedly until the melody was all he had in mind. He felt the breeze's slow cold, going softer, and softer, and softer, until he felt nothing within it but a hole in his heart that had once felt full of friends, and his family. He stared until his brain was in nowhere heaven.