Where the Moon meets the Sun

Chapter Ten

"No. No. No. No. That's not how you do it", Yue felt the inflection of every word and winced.

"I rhymed it", she tried to defend against him.

"You have no feelings. Hearing you rap is just like hearing you talk", Dylan countered, asking her to repeat the verse again.

To be fair, she did warn him before he got it in his head that today would be the day he'd teach her to rap that she might find it extraordinarily difficult if he pushes for the two of them to create a whole new song and even record it.

"It's really hard."

"If you keep saying it, then it is. You have to try again."

She released a sigh and looked down at what he had written for her to rap.

Every day.

Every way.

Every time I stay.

I waste.

In daze.

Have to break away.

I want more.

Have to score.

Have to reach my goal.

Close your eyes.

Leave behind

What stops your mind.

We will fly

You and I

We will make it through

Hold my hand

Hold it tight

This is what we'll do.

Dylan told her they'll create a "hopeful" song and these lines deliver on that.

If only she and her breath could too.

She's been trying to catch it and this is only the first verse.

"I can't do it the way you do it."

"Of course you can't. You and I are different. You have to find the rhythm you are comfortable with. It doesn't mean it works for me is how it will work for you."

"Why did you have to do this verse that fast anyway?"

"Because it escalates towards the chorus. As I said, you don't have to follow my speed. We can work on this on YOUR speed."

"But it doesn't feel as powerful."

"That's why I have been saying you have to put feelings in it. The power in rap comes from the rapper's heart. If your heart is not in it, it's just as good as SPEAKING."

She tried again.

Dylan cut her off with his hand and he looked at her like she has a screw loose.

"Yue, we're both on the beach, under the Italian sun, in probably one of the most glorious places on earth. How can you be rapping like a pole?"

She looked around her and sighed.

"Can we do this on another day?"

"We can't", he answered strongly, "You listed this down as one of the things you want to do. You can't keep putting off the things you want to do just because they are hard."