Moonlight Memories

Blurry.

That's all Therese could grasp to describe the situation. She drank too much, for the first time in her entire life. She had always stayed on the lighter side of alcohol, but one sadness and half a dozen drinks later, she had ventured into a self-destructive state.

That's what she would tell herself to justify bringing a stranger into her home, for being so intimate with this stranger.

Therese sat up, tossing her hair back and looking at the digital clock on her nightstand.

9:00

Too soon.

Shower. Clothes. Sheet music. Taxi.

She moved through these motions robotically, as the face of the woman in her mind clears, all she can think about is her. Her eyes, her lips, everything about her drew Therese in.

And now she's gone. You should've at least asked her name, T.

------------ Carol's Apartment --------------

A trio of knocks on the door beckoned Carol from her tan couch that she had already grown quite fond of. The apartment, although relatively new, had already become a haven for her.

In a matter of seconds, she pushed all thoughts of the previous night from her head, smiled, and prepared herself to meet her new pianist.

The mahogany door swung open with a click, and a slight creak, revealing not only an attractive girl, but an attractive girl that she had most definitely already been acquainted with.

Well acquainted, Carol reminded herself.

They stared at each other in silence for several moments, before the sound of Carol sucking in a deep breath broke the barrier.

"You." Therese murmured.

"Me." Carol said with a small smile.

"You're the violinist I'm supposed to play with for the competition?" Therese asked, a near disbelief in her voice. It always happens to me.

Carol nodded once and stepped aside.

"Come in." She hummed. "Let's get started."

Therese frowned. Is she just going to pretend it never happened? She asked herself that very question over and over as she entered the threshold of Carol's apartment, finding the large, well-lit room that housed the piano immediately.

"It's very nice." She said quietly, fingers tracing across the ebony finish of the grand piano that stood in the center of the room. It's not nice. It's magnificent. Just like you.

"Thank you." Carol responded politely, almost monotonous if Therese had listened too hard. "Play me something." She said, her voice just above a whisper.

Therese hesitated, but she did not hear pleading in the older woman's voice. So she sat at the piano bench.

A soft A note rings out, followed by a series of broken chords. Soon, the music crescendos, and Therese is no longer paying attention to Carol Aird. She is in her own world, where the music soars, where she's taken back to a place where no one else exists.

She ended with a soft chord, releasing a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding.

Carol had moved. She was now sitting in a dark armchair across the room, watching Therese intently.

They caught each others' gaze for a long moment, neither woman saying a word.

Finally, Carol smiles.

"We have to do that one."