Sunlight shined into Flute's room, slowly coaxing him to rise out of bed. With a yawn, he stretched his tired muscles and pulled off the covers. Small birds chirped as they flitted about the air outside his window. He changed from his pajamas into a white button-down shirt and smooth black pants. He then left his room and walked aimlessly through the mansion.
These rooms must be hundreds of years old, Flute thought to himself. I've never read of any instrument changing or rebuilding any room in the House of Harmony. It's always been the same. Part of that thought was comforting, the other part unnerving. He wondered if the Flute before him thought these same thoughts.
She must've been so nice, he thought, staring at the ground. A frown crept across his lips. I wish I could be as much like her as everyone expects me to be.
Piano always told him that the others saw him as a new instrument; they saw him as him, not her. As much as he wanted to believe that, Flute could read the eyes of all who looked at him. They still expect to see her. They hear "Flute," and expect to see the brilliant angel that once owned that name. Instead they see a young, timid boy that is nowhere near as amazing as she was. He watches with despair as that excited sparkle in their eyes fades away as they see him. They never treated him badly or cruelly, but he could just feel how they see him and realize that she's no longer here. Everyone had almost fully accepted that she was gone, even Piano, who was her dear brother. Everyone had accepted that he had taken her place. Everyone, but Cello.
I just don't know what I did wrong. He had never meant to hurt Cello. He tried to be nice to him, just as he did to every other instrument in the Royal Guard. Bass smiled whenever he saw him. Viola and Violin always greeted him whenever they saw each other. Cello, well, didn't do any of that. He didn't do anything, actually. He ignored everything about Flute. He never said hello, never smiled at him, never acknowledged that he even existed. If they made eye contact, Cello would flick his eyes away and act as if nothing happened. Everyone told him that Cello is generally a nice person, that he always would smile and be polite to all who talked to him. I don't know what I did to hurt him. I don't know why he's always upset with me.
When the other instruments of the Royal Guard noticed how Cello was treating him, they would soften their gaze and smile sympathetically to him. Flute curled his fingers into a fist. I don't need their pity. I just want to know why this is happening. I want to know what I did so I can fix it and apologize. Flute's eyes fixed on the floor as his unsteady thoughts started to take hold of him. With a start, all his thoughts scattered away.
"Flute? Flute! There you are!" Piano's voice sounded through the long hallway. "I've been calling for you." He smiled as he walked over to the young boy.
"Oh, sorry." Flute apologized, slowly coming back to reality. "I was just distracted."
"Breakfast is ready." Piano said, placing a hand on Flute's shoulder. "Come eat with me."
Flute nodded with a light smile, feeling happiness come back to him. "Sure," he said. "I'd like that."
