Musical Sketches ✔️

13| Issues

Past Micheal's POV 

At home, 10:48 pm, December 23rd. One year before the incident. 

"Hannah!" I yelled, "Turn your music down!" 

"But it's Christmas season!" she exclaimed, "Mariah Carey is all I'm going to listen to for the rest of the month so get used to it!"

If I had an electric piano, I would've plugged in my headphones and practised piano but I couldn't hear myself think over the sound of "All I want for Christmas is You."

"Hannah!" my mother barked, "Turn it down!" Immediately, my sister turned the music off. She ran downstairs, stuck her tongue out at me, and ran back upstairs. Honestly, I regretted telling her to turn it off. It sounded way better than the third movement of moonlight sonata. When you play a piece over a thousand times, it starts to get boring and sound bland. "Is that better, Micheal?" my mother asked.

"Yeah, it's great. Everything is great. You know what, everything is always so great! In fact, I think I'm going to take a walk. I want to enjoy the great nature of nature!" I rose from the piano stool and opened the front door, "I'll see you later!"

My mother was yelling something as I walked out the door but I couldn't hear her over my own thoughts drowning me. Why was the second movement always the slowest? I didn't leave because of the Christmas music, I left because I just didn't want to practise piano anymore. My mother was always shutting my sister out because she wanted my career as a pianist to thrive, I hated it.

"Micheal?" I looked up and saw Marc holding a rose."What are you doing here?"

"I just needed some fresh air. Who's the flower for?"

"I mean, who else? It's our one year anniversary."

"I can't believe I forgot something like that!" I cried, "I'm so useless."

"Don't say that," he said as he sat beside me, "You've had a lot on your plate lately."

"Am I different?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to word that differently. Like, way differently."

"In two different ways! Have I changed from who I used to be? Am I abnormal for hearing notes wherever I go?"

"Calm down, Micheal. You're fine."

"I'm not fine! I'm tired of hearing that everything's going to be okay when I'm clearly not normal. Do you hear notes every time you step? Is your life a song like mine?"

He put his hand over mine, "Take a deep breath."

"F sharp," I said.

"What?"

"I can't deal with this anymore!" I said as I got up, "I hate this movement! This is why people always skip to the third and don't even bother to learn the second."

"Micheal, what are you going on about?"

"Everything is decrescendo."

"I know I play the viola but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"There's too much vibrato."

"Now, that I understand."

"I knew you would," I nodded, "Now, I just need to find out how to turn a minor into a major."

"Okay now you're just scaring me. And why are you crying?"

I fell to my knees as I said, "Piano's don't even have vibrato! It's always the stupid pedal!"

"Okay, now you really need to calm down."

"I am calm!"

"What even happened?"