Fae Land

I Could Never Go Vegan... I Need Cheese

After meeting Officer Jackson, Lela felt a small weight off her shoulders. She felt confident that he would do his best to find Alicia. She grabbed her instrument case and went to her second favorite place in the world. Amongst the bustling crowds and the metal on metal grinding of the train's wheels, the train station also had great acoustics. The spot she loved most was a slightly abandoned section, but it had a stunning dome and sometimes people would still find her and listen while they wait for their trains.

She opened her case and lovingly wiped the keys. She oiled the hinges and wiped away any excess. Lela would smile. Taking a deep breath feeling the familiar weight of the flute. Her fingers quickly went to the starting position as muscle memory would take over. Bringing the cold metal to her lips, she tightened her embouchure to start just a basic C scale for warm up. Then she went through the B flat scale and ending with an interval scale. Her tongue flittered through the basics as she did every day for the last twenty years or so.

Taking a breath and closing her eyes, her first thoughts were of her neighbor. She found her mind start to worry about Alicia. Her fingers responded as she begun to tell the story of how they met through music. When she was playing the world was swallowed by the notes. She imagined what colors would look like in her head, but only flashes and bursts of light would appear. However, she would mold them into figures dancing in her mind.

Hours had somehow passed. It didn't feel like it to Lela, but her tongue, cheeks, lungs, diaphragm, ab muscles, fingers, and arms felt like noodles. A sudden blast of air brought her back to the train station and she finished the last few long deep notes. A crowd had gathered, and they erupted into applause. She smiled and bowed. 

She took her time wiping down the keys while listening to coins thudding into her flute case and dinging on top of each other. She ran a soft cloth through the barrel. She would give it a more detailed clean when she got home. Some people came up to her to tell her how much they enjoyed her playing. She would always smile and thank them for listening. She collected the money and put it in her purse before putting away her instrument. Her stomach grumbled for food.  She headed towards home. She was just about halfway there when her cell phone chirped at her.

"Hello?"

"Miss Nyong'o?"

"Officer Jackson?" She stopped walking.

"Good news. Alicia isn't missing. She's back at home."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yes. Ma'am. Oh, by the way, when I was on my way out... there was a letter for you. I accidentally stepped on it. Sorry. But I slid it under your door so it wouldn't get lost."

"Oh, thanks for giving me a heads up and for all your help. I'm glad I was just overreacting."

"She's lucky to have a good friend like you."

"Thanks, Officer."

"You can call me Bo."

"Oh. Ok. Thanks, Bo." She paused. "Did you want to come over to try a vegan three-course meal?" She kind of blurted it out.

He paused. "That would be awesome. I have been thinking about what you said.  I can't get it out of my head. Its like a light switch. I actually have been googling like crazy trying to figure out what to eat. Did you know Oreos are vegan?"

She laughed. "So are Jolly Ranchers and my favorite... twizzlers." She paused. "Are you free tonight?"

"Ya. I could be done with my paperwork by 5."

"So 5:30..6pmish?"

"Sounds good."

"Bye." She hung up the phone.