SWEET CREATURE // Luke Patterson

- her melody -

The soft strumming of Josh's guitar filled the room with a gentle melody, creating an atmosphere of warmth and tranquillity that enveloped Danielle like an old comforting embrace. His fingers gently plucked at the strings in rhythmic timing, letting a sense of calmness wash over her filling her up for the first time since being here.

Plucking strings were like echoes of memory ricocheting around her brain. Memories flooded her mind, filled with lazy afternoons resting in the sun, meals sat around the table filled with casual talk and laughter of the day's occurrences.

As well she was taken back to when she first started to learn the art of music. Music had surrounded her life before she was even born, already being coded within her DNA. Images of her dads gentle voice washed over her as if she was hearing them in real time. No ounce of impatience as her younger self plucked one string after another, hitting a bad note every now and then.

His encouragement never wavered and was the very voice which began the foundations of her love for music. Like planting a seed readying itself to grow and blossom.

The very image made tears swarm her vision like an unwanted guest. However despite the emotion clogging up her throat, a smile rested at her lips as her eyes never strayed from Josh and the melodic whispers which glistened through the air.

His guitar was beautiful, it was a dark oak acoustic guitar in pristine condition. It showed his care for the instrument and his care with his strumming, signifying his love for the music flowing through him. It was nice for Danielle to end up in a place where someone held similar interests to herself.

As the unknown tune came to an end, Danielle covered up her emotion well letting a real grin grace her face making her eyes crinkle slightly at the edges.They sat together on the worn-out couch in his room, bathed in the soft glow of the evening light streaming through the window illuminating the patterns and swirls of the oak guitar.

"That's just something i've been working on, it's not fully refined and finished yet." Josh said, scratching the back of his neck with a laugh, laying the guitar delicately to his left, leaning the neck on the guitar against the soft plush of the couch careful to not let it fall.

"That was amazing, seriously, you wrote that yourself?" Danielle said with full interest trying to make her words sound convincing compared to her usual lack of.

"Yeah pretty much, i had to come up with something for the music program so it's not my best but it got me in so it couldn't have been too bad right?" He said, shooting a grin in Danielles direction making her laugh slightly. She hadn't heard too much about the program, but all she knew was that it was a pretty big deal at Loz Feliz high school.

Talk had been dotting around the school corridors all day and she couldn't help but pick up on a bunch of performances taking place tomorrow. Despite only picking up on a few details from others hushed conversations, she was pretty sure it was linked with the program.

"Do you want to try?" Josh said encouragingly with a smile gesturing to the guitar left to the side, seemingly calling out to the young girl. Usually Danielle would turn around at the idea of picking up the old forgotten staple of her life. Run in the opposite direction away from any trouble which would cause anxiety, scared of bringing up repressed memories.

However, for some reason that sinking feeling hadn't resurfaced from the depth of her being and instead was pleasantly replaced with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

So with trembling hands, Danielle reached out and lifted the guitar from its resting place, cradling it against her like muscle memory. Embracing it in her grasp like an old friend she had missed. The wood felt smooth beneath her fingertips as she ran them over its edges hesitantly. Its familiar curves sent a rush of familiarity into her, transporting her back to a better time.