Purple Blood

A broken spell

I sat on the bench in silence, as the last note vibrates off from the piano.

Still trying to compose myself, someone applauded, disrupting the silent atmosphere.

"Bravo Ms Robertson, I didn't know you could play the piano"

I sat there frozen, not knowing what or how I should reply to her...compliment?

How long has she been there? Has she been there the whole time?

Not waiting for my reply, she continued

"Mariage d'amour, Marriage of Love. A French solo piano music piece composed by Paul de Senneville in 1979. It used to be my mother's favorite; one my father would play for her every single day without fail. It is one of the few things I could remember from my childhood."

I turned around slowly and there she was, sitting in one of the armchairs not far from me.

Although her presence still scares me, something feels different.

Her intimidating aura seems to be weaker than usual today, the tone of her voice is not cold but soft and her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were glistening with tears.

This is not the Venable I know. Why is she telling me all this? Is she just here in need of someone's company? Is that really tears in her eyes?

Still not being able to make out the reason as to why Venable is acting so out of character, I decide to just remain seated and wait for her to continue.

"When I was a child, probably around the age of 5, I used to have a loving family, perfect parents who loved each other so much, life was perfect. And one night, we were all woken up from our sleep by the noises coming from the first floor. My parents decided to go look for the source of the noise with bats in their hands. I remember my mother asking me to hide under the bed and to not come out no matter what." She pauses, as if trying to compose herself and continues in a shaky voice with tears threatening to roll down her face.

"Loud bangs followed not long after they left the room...and that...that was the last time I saw them." She lifted her gaze and as soon as it met mine, she could no longer hold her tears back anymore. My heart shattered into a million pieces seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

At that moment, I didn't know what got into me but without hesitation, I walked towards her and cupped her cheeks with both my hands. Looking straight into her eyes, I gently wiped some tears off with my thumbs before crouching down in front of her.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone needs a break sometimes, so just let it all out, I promise not to tell anyone and I'll be here, hmm?" I gave her an affiliative smile to let her know that I meant what I said.

Still maintaining eye contact, she continues in a quavering voice.

"After that incident, I-I supposed you could say I became an orphan, and I was placed into the foster system. I never stayed in any of the foster homes for long, always going from one to another, always getting abused by my foster parents. Each foster home I was sent to was only worse than the previous one and my scoliosis didn't make the situation any better."

I move my hands to grab hers. It was slightly trembling so I gave it a light squeeze in hopes to comfort her a little. She sighed and looked into my eyes once again. Throughout the whole time when she was talking, her eyes never once averted from mine, indicating that what she had been telling me is true.

"So ever since then, I made a promise to myself to never trust anyone again. Built walls around myself and never letting anybody in, putting on a cold front to keep people away. For the past 30 years, it worked. But somehow, you broke that spell."

"Today, is the anniversary of my parents' death. I couldn't sleep, so I ended up wandering around the place and my legs brought me here. That's when I heard the piano, and the piece that I could never forget until the day I die"