Under the Moonshine

Fourteen | Smiles and Music

If you could be anyone you want, who would you be and why?

Emily stared at the blank page of her notebook, pondering the question given by her English professor.

Damn essays, she told herself.

Boisterous laughter blasted behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She turned back and saw Taren with Max, both guys rolling on the floor, smiles on their faces. She watched as they play, like innocent kids on the streets, the genuineness of their happiness envied her. Despite herself, she smiled, hugged her knees and gazed at them.

Taren looked at her, sensing her presence, and smiled in return. "Are we distracting you?"

She gently shook her head. "Nope. I didn't even know how to answer this essay."

His brows briefly furrowed. "What's the question?"

She hadn't expected him to ask that. Turning to her notebook again, she read the question out loud.

If you could be anyone you want, who would you be and why?

Taren seated on the floor beside Emily, his face serious. "I want to be a doctor."

"Why a doctor?" she asked.

"So I would know how to fix myself."

Emily didn't respond. She stayed silent, letting his answer sink in, a moment to get lost in his thoughts. She wondered if he could really understand the height of his indifference and the weight of troubles that might come his way.

Physically speaking, Taren could easily pass the definition of perfect. With his good stance and height, sharp jaw and mesmerizing eyes, he could be every girl's dream. But Emily figured that there was more to him, something the opposite of perfect. One of these days, she knew she would see it, and she hoped it wouldn't cause some problems.

"How about you," he asked. "What do you want to be?"

"When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a hero. But now, maybe a doctor seems good."

Taren smiled.

"Why didn't you pursue medicine, then?"

She just shrugged her shoulder. "Maybe because I am more like my dad than my mother."

"Your mom is a doctor?"

She wrinkled her nose, thinking of her mom. "Well, she's an animal doctor. But she stopped being a vet when I came in the picture. That's how she met my dad, by the way. They worked together in a special project under my granddad's company."

He nodded, as if he had understood the whole story.

Silence dawned on them, the ticks and tocks of the wall clock was the only sound that echoed. Emily locked her eyes on her notebook. It was just another afternoon for the both of them, but something nagged at Emily, an uncertainty for everything she was feeling at the moment. She felt like she was in a maze, making her way out the chaotic bushes that stood like a wall, hiding everything she needed to see.

And looking at the guy seated next to her, Emily knew she had the missing piece of that puzzle.

- - - - -

"Ugh, damn this."

"Do you need help, Em?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe."

Taren gazed at her wide eyes, as if sucking her in. Emily had to look away, her cheeks felt warm, her hands started to sweat.

"What are you doing?"

She tapped the piano keys. "Playing the piano."

"This thing is interesting," he replied, looking at the piano with too much complexity.

She turned to him, a hidden smile behind her eyes. "Is this your first time seeing a piano?"

Taren nodded.

"I shouldn't be so surprised," she whispered to herself.

He returned her gaze, his eyes clear and soft, silently asking her to play.

"I always play the piano whenever there was an event in my father's company. Or even in some occasions. I wasn't really good at this and I always struggle at first."

Taren knew she wasn't finished. "But...?"

"But every time I looked at my dad, I saw pride in his eyes. Proud at me. And that made me play this thing." The thought saddened her because she knew that she wouldn't get the chance to see the shining pride from the only man that mattered to her again.

"You should be proud of yourself too."

She slightly frowned. "Why should I?"

"Because your father is proud of you. Wouldn't that be enough?"

His words were light yet the message weighed heavily for Emily. She felt her chest constricted, tears seemed to pool her eyes, but she blinked it back. Her father was proud to have her as a daughter. She had overlooked that truth before. Now she could see it like a clear glass.

Her hands touched the keys again, remembering the notes from a hazy yesterday. She always liked playing Reminiscent by Yiruma.

The flow felt like the breeze of air, light and smooth, brushing the ears with imagination. Emily's hand travelled from one keys to another, shifting fluidly as if her hands knew where to go. Taren was fixated on how she easily converted the stillness of the room to a dazzling moment of music. He felt like he was dangling with the rhythm, magical and surreal. That was a first for him and it was truly unforgettable.

A moment after, Emily's hand faltered, stopping to the last note. The heavy breaths she had before she began playing subsided, deflating quickly as the sound coursed through her. She looked at Taren and caught her breath upon seeing the same pride beaming in his brown eyes. Emily froze when Taren wrapped his arms around her, just like how the music embraced him.

It was light. It was moving. It was magical.