The Mystery Pianist

The Meeting of Our Eyes

It was 8:30 pm at the Hope Hotel's bar. Every Friday night they had a themed party with food, music and 15% off all drinks at the bar. A piano player would sit and play a beautiful, white grand piano. And tonight, I was the lucky lady. Although, I wasn't getting paid to do so, it was worth it just to be able to play.

Tonight's party theme was a classic "Masscarade ball". Mind you, this was still a hotel bar, it was far from classy, but that doesn't mean they didn't try. Most of the women wore slutty dresses, and the men wore a simple button down shirt with jeans. Every one wore a cheap dollar store mask from across the street.

Except me.

I had to wear a long gown and do my make-up. Even though I was wearing a mask-and, not some mask from the dollar store, oh no. It had to be a fine and elegant mask to match the 'elegant' party. I had to dress to impress. I wore a long white gown, with 1 inch white heels, and a white mask with silver embellishments. I wanted to try and match the piano, but my long black, wavy hair wouldn't let me. But like before, I don't care as long as I got to play the piano.

I have been playing since I was very young. I have always loved music, and I am able to play multiple instruments, but the piano, has always held my heart, and it always will. It is so beautiful and fragile, yet it can play strong and emotional music if you let it. I was snapped out of my thoughts when my eyes spotted a man across the room. He wasn't like any other man in this room. He wore a black tux with a bow tie, and a black mask. He had striking green eyes that almost any woman would swoon over. Almost.

He seemed to be in deep conversation, but he stopped talking when his eyes met with my own brown ones. I looked away immediately, because I am to have no contact with anyone besides the manager and the bar tender. But, never the less, he started walking in my direction, not taking his eyes off of me. I continued to play, trying my best to ignore him.

I was wrapping up a song when he finally spoke,

"May I request?"

At first I wasn't sure what to say, because no one has ever approached me before while I was playing. And technically, no, I wasn't aloud to accept requests, but who cares? I'm doing this for free, so I deserve a little bit of freedom. So as politely as I could, I nodded.

I know, its not a lot but I'm not even supposed to speak to him let alone accept a request. Plus, for what ever reason, I felt nervous. The only time I have ever felt nervous was on the first day of school, and right before an audition, and those were back before I dropped out of college. But that explanation will have to wait until later.

"Can you play Sail By Awolnation?" I just nodded my head again. Great! now he probably thinks I cant speak! Oh well. I'm never going to see him again anyway. The song is a bit complex, but I played it for one of the songs for my college audition. I can still remember it by heart.

The man walks away and stands, not in the same spot, but leaning against the bar. He orders a drink and watches me with those intense, green eyes. I take a deep breath and start playing. (Start the music) I start the song softly, but I will play it louder after the intro. It starts out simple, and gets more complex as it goes. This song was my go to and it helped me because I felt I could connect with the lyricist.

Although it doesn't have many lyrics, the music itself reached to me. Also, I believe life's most important moments are unspoken. Those moments don't need to be said aloud. They can only be felt or seen. You can look into someone's eyes and see their pain or love. But some times, that love or pain cannot be expressed.

Back to the song. I think I'm doing pretty damn well for a stretch of 6 years. Yeah, I've played on my free time, but that was only when a restaurant had a piano, or if I came in early while the people set up for a party here. It was my favorite song.

I blocked out the rest of the people here and just focused on my music. No. I didn't just focus on it, I poured my soul into it. I know that its a little much for a simple hotel bar, but I don't get many chances to play. I will take advantage of what I have. I'm not exactly the richest person in the world, so I can't just buy a piano on a whim, and play whenever I want. I have priorities. Bills, food, and then luxury.

Remember when I said I dropped out of college? Well that because there was some flaw in my scholarship payments. After leaving campus, I went to my parents house to see if they could let me stay until I found a job, and an apartment. But, to my dismay, they declined. I offered to pay rent, buy my own food, and go to a laundry mat for my clothes. But they wouldn't budge. Now, they are traveling the world and only contact me when they go somewhere new, and send me a postcard.

Blocking everything else, and going into my own world. Its coming to an end now, (Listen to the song until it's over) and I cant help but feel the immense sorrow that has been building up. But I hold it in. Like I always do. There will be a time for crying. Now is defiantly not the time, or place. Once it ended, I went to look at the man, but he was gone. I scan the room, and he is no where to be found. When I turned back, I saw a green apple on the piano.