Don't Come Back To Me

The Piano

Over the next week I kept to myself and pretty much stayed in my room the whole time with my headphones in. I finally saw my uncle although was as much at a loss as the man from the plane. I was nice to catch up with up and my aunt, even if I had to do so with a blotchy face and tear filled eyes. My neck hurt for awhile but the physical pain weakened until I was left with only the emotional pain. Knowing that you weren't good enough for your mate hurts ALOT. I know over time I will begin to put it behind me and move on but there will always be some lingering heartbreak.

After a week I decided I had been in my room for too long and if I did something to take my mind off it then maybe it will hurt less.  I thought of the huge forest I had run through on my first day here and had the immediate urge to explore it. I hurried out of my room and passed my Uncle. He looked very surprised to see me out of my room and actually going somewhere.

"I'm just going for a run!" I shouted behind me, not stopping to talk.

"Okay. Be careful and stay on our-" I didn't hear the rest of his sentence as the front door slammed shut behind me. I walked into the woods again, this time going in a different direction, and shifted. My wolf was small with gleaming white fur- I always loved the color of my wolf's fur. It was the opposite to my dark wavy hair which was unusual as wolf fur normally matched hair color. If I didn't shift often, my wolf was restless so it was nice to let it out.

I ran for hours. I had no idea where I was going but it was amazing to feel like I was leaving all the pain behind. It was dangerous as I didn't know where the pack borders were so I was probably in another packs land which meant they could do whatever they wanted to me if they caught me but it felt to good to stop. Sometimes, if the alpha of the pack was particularly ruthless, he would kill someone just for stepping on their land. I had seen a wolf die before, it was a horrible sight and I hope I never have to experience that again.

As I was running, I thought about Darren. After meeting Kayla he turned into a total douche with no feelings. How could he mark someone else knowing that I would feel it for the rest of my life. What about when Kayla's mate comes? Once you have marked someone you are bound for life! He only just met her! He obviously doesn't love her. They'll probably both cheat on each other for the rest of their miserable lives.

I kept running until I saw something on the ground. There were wide, flat grey stones arranged in a line, almost like a path. Why would there be a path randomly in the middle of the woods? I slowed down and followed it for a few minutes. It twisted round the trees and shrubs before eventually leading to a small building. It was made of dull, grey, mismatched stones which made it seem like it would topple over at the slightest touch.This precarious appearance wasn't helped by the fact that one corner had crumbled away and the thatched roof had collapsed on itself. It was just taller than I was and looked like it only had one room. It was obviously quite old and the surrounding plants had grown up the sides and into the cracks, making it camouflaged. It would have been easy to run straight past it if I hadn't seen the path.

My curiosity ignited and I hesitantly went through the hole where the door had once been. The first thing I saw when I went inside was the Grand Piano in the corner. It was covered in dust, some one had put a cloth over it in an attempt to preserve it but the cloth had obviously fallen off years ago. After I dusted it off, I found that it was in a good shape-the glossy, mahogany surface of the instrument had tiny scratches and the legs looked unstable but nothing was completely damaged. I wondered why someone would have a hut in the forest with only a piano in and also, why would they just leave it here? There was nothing else in the room except layers of dust and dead leaves.

I shifted back into my human form and sat down on the wobbly, carpeted stool to rest my fingers on the keys. I had never played the piano before, in fact, I had never played any instrument before. My dad played the piano and explained to me once what the different notes were but I could only remember a few things.

I experimentally pressed down on a key which I remembered was called middle C and started to play a scale. I expected it to be out of tune as it didn't look as if it had been used in a while but it was surprisingly okay. I kept working out different scales, going by ear rather than notes as I didn't know anything about key signatures. After a while, I started playing a simple tune with my right hand. I managed to work out Mary had a little lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star after a few disappointing attempts. It made me happy that I could work out how to play something on my own after only a few tries.

Next to the piano there was a box full of music. I looked through and most of it looked way too complex for me. Eventually I found a book called Easy Tunes for Piano Beginners. On the first two pages there was Mary had a little lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I skipped them and went on to the next page. There weren't any tunes that I recognized but I decided to try them anyway. I tried to remember every bit of musical knowledge my father had taught me. He had taught me a way to remember where the notes were on the stave for treble clef: the spaces from bottom to top spelled FACE. I managed to work out a few tunes and after that I didn't need to think so hard about it, I could just sight read it. I was only using my right hand though, I didn't dare trying both hands. I decided that I was going to come back and practice and eventually I would use both hands and move on from the simple tunes I was playing. I was delighted that I had something to focus on and achieve after sitting aimlessly in my room for so long.

I played for ages, working my way through the book, until I realized it was getting dark. I had spent at least three or four hours getting there and then another hour and a half playing although, while I was running there I had twisted and turned a lot so I was hoping getting back would be quicker. I was right. I only took me a couple of hours to run back. It probably would have taken less time if I hadn't gotten lost a few times.

When I entered the house, I smelt my aunts macaroni cheese. Before she left the pack she would always make me the most delicious food and it brought a smile to face that I could experience it again. I got out cutlery and to lay the table for her. She noticed that I was feeling better and I think that that made her happier and caused her to stop worrying so much about me. She really has been great to me. I practically demanded that I live with her then I cause her trouble and sulk in my room all week. I didn't think that she had done much this week because she had been too worried about me and I suddenly felt guilty so I made a promise to myself that I would try and get out of her hair.

"So what did you do today sweetie?"

"I just went exploring," I said vaguely. She didn't seem happy with my answer so I quickly changed the topic." I really appreciate what you have done for me. Tomorrow is Monday and the start of the new term. I'm going to go to school tomorrow and then get a job afterwards. I don't want to be taking all your money as well as making you look after me."

"Sweetie, your not making us do anything! We want to look after you and you are no trouble at all. You honestly don't have to get a job. And I like looking after you, you have really been no bother this week."

"I feel bad enough already, I really don't want to make you pay for me." I said. She just smiled because she knew she was not losing this argument. My uncle walked in and sat down to eat with us.

"Alex, I haven't shown you the borders of our pack yet so try not to go too far out. We are on good terms with the neighboring packs and our land crosses theirs in some places but I don't want you to get hurt." My Uncle explained. I nodded and failed to mention that I had already gone quite far out.

"Why does our land cross theirs?" I asked. It was unusual to have two packs so close together.

"Well, the school and shops in the town are for both packs so they are neutral territory. It shouldn't bother you, the pupils at the school from both packs mix all the time without too many problems."

I hope the section of the woods with the piano in is on our land. Even if it wasn't, I don't think that would stop me from going there.

Later that evening, I got out my laptop and looked at piano tutorials. I clicked on one and after thirty seconds I turned it on mute and just watched him play because the man talked to much and most of what he was saying was obvious anyway. After that I looked at famous pianists on YouTube. I loved watching them play as they sounded amazing and and you could tell they loved the music and the beautiful instrument they were playing. They were playing very complicated pieces and the whole time I was thinking 'I want to be able to play like that'. I downloaded some piano music onto my iPod and listened to it until it was quite late. When I got into bed I realized I hadn't thought about Darren or Kayla since I found the piano which is what convinced me that music was what I wanted to do.