A dream for a smile

An English dream?

Run. That's his only thought. He has to run.

A dozen boys are running after him, as every evening. They don't want his lunch or his money; all that they want is him, and more precisely his dignity. Every evening, at the end of the shool they wait for him, and take pleasure to press the young boy against a wall, to insult and sometimes hit him. Generally, they pay attention to what everyone watch them before starting. The goal? Humiliation. The young man had never done them anything wrong, but he is their target, and they harass him, hurt him, everyday.

Today, he refused to be humiliated as well, that's why he leaved the school extremely quickly, hoping they won't see him. However, this resulted in a chase run between him and his tormentors, who were already waiting for him outside. Now, he runs out of breath through the streets of the city, his feet hammering the ground, punctuating his unrestrained race. He can hear them behind him, he can hear them abusing his person, searching all the ways as possible to brake her.
Sweat pearls on the boy's cheeks, mixing with his tears: he's hurt, and he's afraid. Pain caught him like hands on his legs, just wishing he falls on the burning concrete. At this moment, he would give up, really. He just want to stop everything, to stop the time, and breath. Yes, he would, but it's impossible, he's pursued by a group of people full of rage for a reason unknown to him; he can't escape.

Suddenly, a mysterious force drives him to run faster, more than he has never done. He knows the city well, and after several changes of direction, his acceleration finally allowed him to sow his aggressors. Exhausted, sweating, he leans against the wall to catch his breath. His painful legs still tremble from the effort, and by wanting to massage them, he presses on the multiple blues acquired under the blows of his comrades, which is far from relieving him.
A few minutes later, when the pain finally stops, he raises his head, and realizes that he doesn't know where he is. His feet took him further than he thought: he has never come to this place, at least not recently. The street is almost deserted, and all the houses are in ruins, except one. Indeed, although it's marked by time, it remains standing, and, step by step, the young man approaches it. With a hesitant gesture, he pushes the door of the old house, and what he finds inside leaves him speechless.

A ray of light emerging from a window without tiles passes through the room, illuminating the dust that seems suspended, out of time. Yes, out of time, that's how he would describe the house. The sound of the ground creaking under his feet, all these paintings we don't see what they represent, the smell of the old wood, the freshness of the stone, strangely, all of this gives him a sense of security.
By venturing a bit more into the house, he discovers another room, completely empty, except for a piano. He doesn't know how to play the piano, nevertheless he approaches it, until gently placing his fingers on the keys of the instrument, then, with a frank but uncertain gesture, he presses one of them.

Without knowing it, he played the note C, and the sound ...Ô that the sound destabilizes him! The echo of the note fills the room, shaking the walls with an upsetting sound. The young man is impressed; it's only a vibration, but its resonance is outstanding, gorgeous, he'd never have believed that a single note could have that effect. It's as if he was transported into another world; he's in weightlessness, floating between the rays of the sun. Slowly, he closes his eyes, and lets himself invade by this feeling of happiness. It's been so long that he hasn't felt so well; he feels that from now on nothing wrong can happen to him; he feels safe.

When he leaves the house, he knows that something has changed in him, he knows that this note of music, although tiny, has changed everything.
Tonight he learned that beauty doesn't resides in the abundance but in the sincerity. Tonight he learned that music is our greatest source of beauty, because everyone finds in it the happiness of believing again. Tonight he learned that music doesn't provide a sense of security, but offers everyone a safe haven. From now on, he knows he will never be alone again.