The Tales of the Shadows

1. Coming Together

Audrey stared at the sheets of paper in front of her as if challenging them. Her fierce gaze fixated only on the black and white object in front of her, her arm muscles tensed greatly. Her forehead was wrinkled with great effort as her thoughts ran wildly.

"This makes no sense!" She finally exclaimed in her innocent voice, collapsing in her seat with a hunched back, although she quickly straightened herself, shaking her head. The sound she just heard made no sense, even if though the notes looked like a great piece of art painted by a god.

"Chopin composed this piece wrong," she declared, nodding her head with satisfaction.

"Chopin composed this piece wrong?" Audrey nodded once again as a deep voice said the statement with humorous confusion. Her senses shot up and her eyes widened as she realised someone came in.

"Oh, nothing! It's a great piece! A master's creation!"

Jay laughed softly as Audrey denied her earlier statement, shaking her hands and head frantically with a nervous look on her face. His smile only deepened as he approached her slowly, patting her head affectionately.

Audrey was quite mature, even though she was only ten. This was equal to the age of fourteen for humans, but sometimes, Jay though that Audrey might as well be thirty in human mentality. Something always kept her humble and soft, accommodating with everything, although she had her own childish moments, something he treasured dearly.

What was better, of course, was the laughing syndrome she was attacked by at the thought of her behaviour after she returned to her senses.

"What's the matter, Audrey?" Jay's face melted into a small smile as he walked to Audrey's side, crouching on his knees to reach her height.

"N-nothing, really. Just pianist problems," Audrey laughed nervously, rubbing her neck.

"Maybe I can help."

Audrey looked at him in thought, silence spreading in the room for a minute. She looked towards the sheet, then back towards Jay.

"The piece is quite tough, although I'm getting it." Audrey rubbed her head nervously, laughing again.

"There's this part I'm not able to play at all, though. It's been a week, and it sounds like something from another piece. Doesn't flow."

Audrey pursed her lips, looking at Jay eagerly. Jay looked towards the sheet, moving closer towards it.

"Can you play the part for me?"

Audrey widened her eyes slightly, taken aback by the request, but nodded, setting her hands on the keys.

Her fingers moved in an unsure, but enjoyable movement. Her face held the same expression as before, but Jay could sense her confused thrill.

Audrey rested her fingers on the keys, looking at Jay expectantly.

"The tre- I mean, the right hand notes don't go well with the left," Audrey said softly, looking at her small hands.

"Are you sure?" Jay asked thoughtfully. "Perhaps it's because you aren't playing it in the original pace, and you're used to hearing the perfect notes.

"A little girl once told me that there's no negativity, no frustration while learning a piece, for the mistakes, the experiments, and the entire practice is fun. I wonder who that was?"

Audrey giggled lightly, bowing her head towards the floor to hide it. Jay reached forward and began to tickle the little girl, her uncontrollable laughter a precious sound to his ears.