A Thousand Lies

37 | Soft snow

UNEDITED

It was one of those days sleep was non-existent. I ended up laying in bed, tossing and turning until eventually light came in through the drapes. I smiled as I remembered the times Tyler would wake me up by opening the windows and yelling in my ear. Even though it wasn't that long ago, it seemed like a distant memory.

I pushed the covers away and shivered when the cold air hit my bare skin. When I opened the drapes, the sun had just started waking up the world. Birds were chirping, and there were a few people waking their dogs or jogging. I could never understand how people could get up so early in the morning and go running. Those people were same as the people who put pineapples on pizza ; I don't have anything against them per se, but I could never fathom what they were thinking.

Around lunchtime, when I had once again thrown up all the food, Tyler had brought coffee and we sat down on the couch in the living room. He was taking some time off from work for me.

"Ty, I want to go to Poland."

Tyler stiffened beside me, looking confused.

"I'm going to properly put an end to things between Alan and me."

I took a long sip of coffee to remove the bitter taste of bile.

Tyler knelt beside me, and his eyes softened as he held my hand.

"Okay. Go. But I'm going with you."

"No," I shook my head. "This is something I have to do alone."

"At least take Deon with you. He's whining about not being here with you anyway."

"Okay," I relented. "But don't meddle. And leave me alone for the day after we get there."

"I just wish you wouldn't get hurt, Liv."

"Its just something I have to face. It'll be over soon."

I knew that I was only consoling myself with those words.

~~~~

The crowd in the airport was loud and desolate. It was hard to concentrate on anything with the headache I had. The sky was dark and grey with the air cold on my skin.

It wasn't perfect, but today was the day.

It was the day of Alan's second stage play. We had talked until it was late last night, about the tunes and how he could improve more. I would say he had it down perfectly, and I was sure he would shine even brighter today.

It was a surprise that I decided to pull in the midst of things.

I wonder what kind of face he'd make when he sees me?

A few exhausting hours later, I was sitting on one of the chairs close to the stage. I would have to thank Tyler later for getting me a first row seat. It had been tremendous few hours with the other pianists performances. Alan's was the last, so I had begrudgingly wait, all the while judging the other pianists.

The first one is from Japan. With how nimble she is with her fingers, I'd guess she's at least been practicing for ten years.

The second one was from Poland. He was following the score quite nicely and had a good grasp on the melody. However, he chose a difficult piece and that backfired on him.

The third contestant was from Poland, like the second contestant. He was quick to pick up his pace but fell behind on a couple as the pace quickened.

The fourth was also from Japan. He had his way and I was left shook with how well he played Waltz in F major, Op. 34, no.3. He was almost on par with Alan. His style was authentic, but the tones were too harsh, which I'm sure would cost him points.