Shattered Happiness

Shadows

"Alright, let's give it a round of applause for Lyra's performance of playing ten instruments all at once!"

The crowd roared with excitement as the tall girl waved with a bright smile before exiting the stage. 

"That was an amazing act! I have never seen anything like this, wow!" 

"Dad, did you see that?! That was crazy!" A little kid jumped in joy, pulling her dad's arm. 

"Well, that was something you don't see every day..." Dawn sighed in amusement, hands on her hips. Her friend nodded silently beside her, impressed with the act as well. "I wonder who's next on the list?"

"Let's check..." Serena pulled up the list for her friend once more. 

"Hm..oh here!" Dawn pointed at the name and then groaned immediately after recognizing the name. "Ah, great..." 

The crowd began to settle down once the speaker started to speak again. "Our next act is one that you all have been waiting for. Give it up for Gary Oak!"

The audience cheered in excitement as the man himself confidently walked on stage. "Well, well, no need to fear, the one and only Gary Oak is here!"

The two girls loudly groaned as everyone began to chant his name all together. 

Gary brushed his hand through his dark hair as he took in the excited atmosphere. "Who here is ready to rock?!"

Everyone cheered, extremely loud for poor Serena's ears, while the screen of the stage began to lift, revealing a few more members with their instruments who were part of this musical act. She spotted four people besides Gary: one with a piano, two with guitars, and the last one was already playing on the drums.

Dawn made a face. "What?! This is a band act?! Then, how come it only has his name on the list?!"

As if he heard her, he called out in the microphone. "I may be the main act, but I have a few of my friends with me as well! But hey, this whole thing wouldn't have happened without me!" 

Cheers got louder, and the crowd started moving, trying to get a better view of the stage. Whatever they played, it got the whole audience jumping nonstop as the two girls decided to stay farther back to avoid getting caught up in it. From where they're at, Serena could only see Gary more clearly than the other members on stage due to the lack of spotlights towards the back of the stage. But just for a second, something on one of the guitars caught her eye. But before she could even question it, their song ended. 

"Thank you! Thank you!" Gary waved at the crowd with great pride. "If you want to keep updates on us, especially on me, the social media tag is..."

Serena couldn't care less about whatever Gary is blabbering about on stage because once all the lights turned on, she could see the faces of the other students on stage more clearly. The other three she remembered seeing around in her school, one was probably a grade older than her, but one of them wore a face mask along with a cap, and the way his eyes crinkled up as if he was giving out a big smile to his bandmates felt too familiar to her. 

Moments later, the staff of the show eventually shooed Gary off the stage and prepared for the next act. The music section of the event has just begun, and it seems it's having a great start so far, judging from the crowd. 

The next few acts entertained Serena...surprisingly. It's been a while since she saw many talented people all gathered in one place. Several played instruments such as the piano and violin; there were even duets that tugged Serena's heartstrings, reminding her of her old days with music. There was even one girl who performed music with water, which impressed everyone, even Serena herself. Another act was basically a rap battle, and that got everyone jumping in excitement. Singers and vocalists also had their time to shine too. 

"Now, for our next performance, is Ash from Pallet Town!" The crowd roared in excitement. 

Serena straightened up and saw a figure walking up on stage. 

Dawn huffed playfully. "Pretty sure you don't have to announce the last part if we're in that same town."

Once the next performer was shown under the spotlight, Serena knew her gut feeling was right from earlier, the moment she recognized the outfit he's wearing. He was one of the guitar players from Gary's performance earlier. 

The moment the audience calmed down, Ash pulled down his face mask and leaned into the microphone. "Hello, everyone! Tonight, I will share a song I wrote recently."

He pulled up his guitar and strummed it softly. "Hope you all enjoy it."

It was a calm silence before his fingers began to move. Serena inhaled sharply. 

A deeper day, a longer grown shadow

The bright sun is setting from afar

I guess I'll be wandering in the dark

Am I  forever trapped in here?

The melody struck a chord in many people's hearts. It was soft yet haunting, something many people didn't expect to hear from him tonight. 

The place that is still flourishing

I have to get closer and closer

Swirling emotions dwelled in Serena's heart as the song painted her a picture of the message that the performer was trying to convey to his listeners. The girl leaned in, trying to capture his words that flowed with the notes. 

Every day you seem out of reach

Every time you do, I'd say

I'm waiting right here for you

Every night I see you in my heart

Every time I do, I end up in tears

When I call you from the Shadows

Everybody cheered when he finished the song. Compliments and praises filled the air while a few dabbed their eyes with a handkerchief, finding themselves more emotional than others. Despite all that, Serena only found herself frowning, still feeling herself getting drowned in these lyrics. Noting how vulnerable he seemed to be on stage, compared to his usual self, Serena never really thought about who he really is on a deeper level. All this time, she's been focused on herself and was too busy wallowing in her self-pity, she realized. 

She looked up again and saw him do a gentleman's bow before waving at everybody. As if he seemed to feel her gaze on him, he locked eyes with her and gave a childish grin. Serena rolled her eyes and gave a subtle nod of approval to his performance. As he got off stage, Serena still couldn't help but think: Exactly, what's his story? 

"Now, for our next performance, we have Miette!" 

Once again, the people cheered for the next performer. 

"Ah, there she is." The blonde girl could hear her friend mumble grimly. 

Serena realized it's been a while since she saw the short, blue-haired girl. The last time she encountered her was right before she bumped into Ash that one day. 

Now there she is, standing tall and proud on stage, with a confident smirk on her face. But what Serena didn't expect was the instrument that she was holding. 

 A flute. 

One of the instruments that Serena loved to play. In fact, it was her favorite instrument.

Miette's flute shone under the bright spotlight, asserting its dominance over tonight's performance. Serena shivered. For a moment, she thought she saw her own reflection in it. 

Miette's gaze sharpened, and she said with a bold voice. "Tonight, I'll show you what it really means to be a musician."

----------------------

A/n

Hello everyone! Since it's that time of the year again (April), I wanted to at least get this chapter up before this week ends! It's been difficult jumping back to writing, so there's still no fixed schedule, unfortunately. But I still have plans to finish it (hopefully!).  Anyway, be safe and see you at the next one!  :D

~ ari_sheepie