The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|46| And he's going under...

"Just explain it already," Ashley chuckled.

"I'm trying to build up tension!" Colby said accusingly. "But fine. You could play a tune, and, well, see if Ilse replies to it? Maybe with another tune?"

"That's actually a really good idea," Sam said, nodding.

"Oh, he didn't tell you either?" she asked, grinning widely as he shook his head. "Now you know what it feels like!"

Sam turned the camera to point it at himself, with pouting lips. "Alright, you got me with that one."

"Can we go on?" Colby asked, and the other two nodded quickly. Ronja was standing a little further away. Ashley felt bad seeing the older woman keeping her distance but knew that she wouldn't like to be dragged into the video, so she let it be.

Colby set the EVP down on the piano, and Ashley turned back around, ready to play it.

"So, am I just supposed to do some tunes or...?" she asked, looking at him.

He shrugged. "Just play something and give her the time to answer."

"Okay." Ashley reached over to turn the recorder on. "Ilse can you copy this?" she asked the room before playing a simple set of notes with her right index finger. She waited around ten seconds before repeating them. Then she waited again and turned the EVP off.

Sam took it and brought it closer to the camera before he started playing the recording. The audio quality was bad, but they still heard Ashley ask if Ilse could copy it, and then play the melody. But there was nothing more, just Ashley repeating the sound. Sam shook his head.

"Nope, that didn't work," he stated the obvious.

"Let me try again," Ashley said. As Sam put the EVP back on the piano, she looked around the room. "Ilse," she called out, "I know you're here. Would you like to come and accompany me? Just play with me, will you?" She scooted a little to the side to make space on the stool.

As soon as she turned on the recorder, she felt a smile tug at her lips, before she lowered her fingers and started to play – not some random melody now, but the first few chords of Ilse's melody. She stopped after eight seconds and waited long enough for Ilse to finish the part, counting in her head. Sam took the EVP again and played the recording. They heard Ashley play at first, and she counted until eight. Her eyes widened as she realized that the recording was longer than what she had played, but only a few seconds. Then it got silent again.

The boys hadn't noticed, and her startled expression was the only thing that kept them from putting the recorder away.

"What is it, did you hear something?" Sam asked.

She grinned up at him. "The recording was definitely longer than what I played," she said. "Look, this was my part." She repeated the eight seconds on the piano. "And now compare it with the recording."

As they listened to it a second time, Colby nodded with his mouth wide open. "I didn't even notice," he breathed. "That's crazy. Does that mean Ilse continued the melody?"

"I think so," Ashley nodded. "Thank you for doing that, Ilse! I loved to hear you play, even if it was only for a few seconds."

"Yes, thank you," Sam joined in. "It was beautiful." Colby and Ronja nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Do we want to try the ovilus or go directly to the Estes session?" the brunet asked.

"I don't think we'll get more down here," Sam replied, shaking his head.

"Then let's go," Ashley said. "Ilse, we'd love it if you accompanied us. It would be fantastic to hear more about your life, as well. You can follow and talk to us upstairs, will you?"