Flash Fiction Frenzy

Sing Me a Mountain

Jacob brushed his fingers across the strings of his guitar. The tune he created pleased his ears. Gathering sheets of paper, he decided to add lyrics.

I never thought I could climb this mountain, he wrote, I never knew that this river would lead to you. His mind flooded with images of Beth. The red-haired angel with the green eyes always inspired some kind of meaningful lyric.

Jacob scribbled down a few more lines and put his guitar back in its case. The clock read 7:14. If he didn't leave for school now, he would be late.

In the parking lot, he discovered his angel as she strutted through the rows of cars. She was decorated with a pink skirt, a white tank top and black knee-high boots. Her silver necklace sparkled in the sunlight. Heads turned as she passed boy after boy, slowly making her way to Jacob's red car.

"Hey babe!" she smiled. "Walk with me."

Jacob exited his car, pulled his bag out of the backseat and followed Beth as she moved toward the building. He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away and grasped her necklace, rubbing her thumb over the silver heart charm.

"Is something wrong?" he questioned. Beth did not look distraught, but she was sure acting strangely. Her voice had a less sincere tone.

Having been found out, Beth dropped the act and stopped in her tracks. "Look babe, I'm really sorry, but..."

"But what?"

"I... I kissed David," she admitted. Beth looked pleadingly into the eyes of her boyfriend. For some reason, it seemed to Jacob that she was more sorry about him knowing than she was about committing the act.

"I-"

"You don't have to say anything," she told him, "I'll consider myself broken up with." she gave him one more look and dashed away to a bench where a muscly boy sat holding a football. She left me for David, Jacob thought.

At dinner that night, Jacob poked at his food but only ate about two bites. His father failed to notice his son's change in demeanor as he typed away at his laptop. "I need to finish this for a client," he'd told his son two hours ago. His mother had cooked the beef and went to bed, complaining of a headache.

When Jacob had had enough of pretending to eat, he clicked on the TV. There was supposed to be a special episode of his favorite show featuring his favorite singer Zak Tommes. He was going to reveal his new song for the first time. Impatiently, Jacob sat and waited for the music.

The singer with dyed black hair appeared on screen next to a blond man holding a microphone. He introduced Zak, and the singer picked up his guitar. Jacob leaned closer to the screen.

"I can't take all the credit for this," Zak announced. "My brother helped me write it."

Jacob didn't mind who wrote it. He wanted to hear the song and forget all about Beth.

Zak played the first note. It was a G chord. "I never thought I could climb this mountain," he sang. Jacob sprang up. Was that his song? Zak sang the next line. "I never knew that this river would lead to you."

Jacob sat silently and listened as Zak sang every word of the song that he had written that morning. His arms began to shake. Was he Zak's brother? How could this be? He was states away and hadn't shared his words with anyone.

As he clicked off the TV to process what had just happened, his ears detected static, the sort of noise that the TV makes when it malfunctions. One glance at the TV revealed that it was still off. Strange.

And then, as clear as day, a voice that sounded as if it held a tremendous amount of love and gratitude implanted its words into Jacob's mind. Thank you, brother, for your help, it said. Jacob didn't know how this could happen. Somehow, though, it didn't scare him. It made him feel safe.