A Shot in the Dark - Train Heartnet

Chapter #11

You opened your eyes to darkness. You looked from side to side slowly, waiting for your eyes to adjust. Only it didn’t start to get easier to see. It was still pitch black everywhere you looked. You blinked a few times not appreciating the lack of light. You listened for a sound, some hint to where you were. You could hear the clicking of a spinning ceiling fan and the ticking of a clock. You decided you were in a large room.

Taking a deep breath in you spun yourself in a slow circle. It smelled of whiskey and cigarettes. Your eyes shot open by the familiar scent that sent your mind reeling. You caught a glimpse of a silent study in your mind’s eye. Papers were strewn about; a half empty whiskey bottle was on the edge of the desk next to a filled glass and a nearly overflowing ashtray. The smell of cigarette smoke filled your nostrils and you slowly looked up to the man sitting at the desk.

Then you forced your mind back, away from that moment in a past life. You placed your fingertips to your forehead covering your right eye and took a shaky breath in. You had spent most of your life forgetting that study, you didn’t want to be back there.

There was a sound.

You froze, straining your ears desperately to hear. It started out low but it slowly got louder the longer you waited. It was the distant melody of a piano playing, a sad but beautiful tune. You took a few steps forwards following the sound. Every step you took in the dark you pushed on, trusting that you wouldn’t step onto nothing but air. No matter how far you walked, you seemed to stay in one place. The piano didn’t get louder; the ceiling fan didn’t get quieter. You stopped walking listening again. Suddenly, a light flashed on behind you and you twirled around.

An open window stood in front of you a few meters away. The moon was large in the sky sending beams of light into the room, revealing a black grand piano in the corner. You waited a moment before moving, taking small deliberate steps towards the piano. You came around to its front and looked down at the shining ivory keys. They were neatly polished and almost glowed under the light of the moon. Your mother had insisted on you learning to play after Kotori had taken up the art but your father had no intention to allow that to happen. He sold the piano soon after the idea was vocalized and insisted that lessons were currently unaffordable. That was the man he was. What he didn’t know was that you had spent hours of your days at your school learning how to play. A friend from your old life had taught you after you went to him with the request. You wanted to learn and nothing was going to stop you. That was the kind of girl you were.

You reached out to glide your fingers over the keys when several of the keys pushed down hard making an abrupt, deafening and unappealing sound. You smashed your hands down over your ears and stumbled backwards disoriented. It carried on making your head pound and your eardrums throb. You dropped to your knees and let out a nightmarish scream in reply.

Then there was silence. You were breathing heavily, still in shock from the sound, and removed your hands from your now bleeding ears. You pushed yourself up off the ground and looked to where the piano had been. It was gone but in it’s place stood a floor length mirror. You closed your eyes, collecting your bearings and then inched forwards to the mirror. You examined it up and down, preparing to receive some kind of injury. When nothing alarming happened after several minutes you took the final steps to stand in front of it. Your reflection stared back at you. Reaching up, you placed your fingertips on the smooth glass and your reflection mimicked the motion. You slide them down the pane, leaving a light trail of blood from your ears in their wake. You kept your eyes on the blood for a moment, a familiar sight, before eyes glided back up to your face. Your body went rigid and you froze. Train was standing behind you in the mirror. You glanced over your shoulder but he wasn’t there. You slowly shifted your eyes back to the reflection. His hands reached around your reflection’s waist and you felt the motion against your skin. Looking down, you were further confused by the empty space where his arms should be. You darted your eyes back to the mirror and he bent his head to your neck placing small kisses in a line down to your shoulder. The warmth of his lips on your neck was distinct even though he wasn’t there and you closed your eyes, losing yourself momentarily to the feeling. Seconds passed before you opened your eyes again and turned your attention away from Train.