Living

Eden

Life had never been kind to Eden. Ever since he was born he felt as if life was trying its hardest to bring him face to face with either a life of misfortune or an unfortunate death. Eden was born to an orphanage; his mother had died during child birth and his father, if he had a father, had never come to the orphanage to retrieve his son. When he was younger, Eden would jump out of his bed, filled to the brim with excitement, thinking that this was the day he would have a family. Unfortunately, many days were the days when he would have family today formed days formed weeks and weeks formed years. On the eighteenth year that he would have a family, he was thrown out of the orphanage with nothing but the guitar that used to belong to his mother as a present from the orphanage. Eden couldn't help but laugh "get out but here's something you don't even know how to use." Eden was now twenty-five, a grown man. Over the years he had learned how to play his mother's guitar and it was still in perfect condition, though it had been slightly altered. The acoustic guitar still shone brightly, the wood had still had a pristine, smooth feel to it and would still squeak to the touch. The matte black paint job, Eden made sure to keep alive as that was his favourite part of the guitar his guitar was tuned so that the strings were tight; all his melodies depended on the sad sound that came from tight strings. The four strings were all of a different colour due to the countless repairs he had done on the guitar. Over the years Eden had become a musician, he was not a household name but he was well enough known that the name Eden sounded familiar to most people. He achieved his goal at age twenty-three, after four years of homelessness and playing music for money on the dirty streets he slept on. He remembered how the passers-by would stop to listen on their daily commute to work, he always felt proud when his music would make serious, working adults stop and listen, enticed by his sombre tune. Two years later, life had ruined his dream too and he was walking through the park with the only thing he needed, his mother's guitar. After another stressful performance, he needed a break from "the life." He was tired, walking past a frozen lake when he heard a man singing on a bench behind him, a song that Eden had forgotten years ago. Eden sat down.