heart of glass

𝟼. 𝚂𝚊𝚠𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡 !

𝘚𝘈𝘞𝘠𝘌𝘙'𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌 . . .

» [ 𝘏𝘖𝘔𝘌 ] «
𝟢:𝟥𝟩 ─〇───── 𝟤:𝟧𝟧
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

. . . . . . . . . .

𝖲𝖺𝗐𝗒𝖾𝗋'𝗌 𝖯𝖮𝖵 :

I stuck up my middle finger at the boy next door as I yanked the curtain shut. I'm sorry, but normally when you hear shouting you at least go check and see what all of the ruckus is about. Any reasonable and sensible human being would've done the exact same thing. I nodded in agreement with my thoughts as I made my way outside to get some fresh air. It was a beautiful Saturday evening after all, and I was NOT about to let the crabby boy next door put a dent in my mood.

In the backyard of my house stood a vacant shack. When we first moved in my father and mother couldn't really see any use for it. But, I desperately pleaded that I would find some creative way to give it a purpose. Not that I had ever stepped foot inside of it since they'd left town, but I guess now would be the most presenting time. It was sunny, the air was cool, and the day had just barely started. Plus, I had an insane amount of time to waste.

As I stepped foot inside of the shack, there was the smallest shift in the air, as if it got just a little cooler, I continued my walk inside as I took my time eyeballing everything that remained from the previous owner. Why didn't the Molina's take any of these items with them ?

Maybe it was all too painful for them. I pondered as I wiped the tip of my finger over the top of the left behind grand piano. The dust that coated my finger was immensely thick. I rubbed the tips of my fingers together as the dust evaporated back into the crisp air. I tapped on a few of the keys as my body dabbled in position, contemplating whether or not I should sit down and mess about. I cocked my head to the side as my finger glided against the keys, producing a delicate sound from the piano. At least it still worked. I moved closer to the seat and positioned myself, crossing my legs and gently placing both of my hands on-top of the keys. I began to play a little melody I had created for one of my own written songs. Of course, it would never hear the light of day, but that didn't mean that I couldn't still be proud of it and have my fun.

I softly began to sing a few words, glancing around the room and near the shack's doors to make sure no one was near. I wouldn't want that awful mannered boy from next door to catch me out here humming to myself. As if I hadn't already embarrassed myself enough.

Concurrently, I had finished playing my song. I lowered my voice back down to its normal tone and cleared my throat before I began to cover the keys back up. I smiled contently to myself. That wasn't so bad. If I only I could perform with such confidence for an actual audience. I could practice one more song ... I considered as I readjusted myself. My pointer finger hit the key, but before I could get a single word to flow out of my mouth I was interrupted by a small mumble. A mumble that was most definitely not my own.

"Hello ?"
I questioned, suspecting that the boy next door had ultimately returned and came to spy on me.

"Enjoying the show ?"
I mocked the boy's words from earlier as I paced around the room.

"Too afraid to shoot another comeback at me ?"
I jerked open one of the door's inside of the shack, half suspecting to possibly find a mangled dead animal lying casually inside.

"I'm about to start playing again ... better leave while you can."
I threatened as I closed the door and went back towards the piano.

𝖠𝗅𝖾𝗑'𝗌 𝖯𝖮𝖵 :

"Reggie, what did I tell you ?"
I shot a disappointed pout towards him as we quietly whispered to one another in the loft. The girl had began playing her music again, so I was certain she wouldn't be able to pick up on our muffled whispers. This time.

"HEY ! You can't blame me, it was a catchy tune !"
Reggie protested as his smile began to fade away at my scolding.
"I know we're not supposed to interact with her, but she just seems so lonely."
We both frowned as we turned our attention back to the girl.
"I just really want her to know that we're here."
I could hear the disappointment in Reggie's voice, but we couldn't risk scaring her away. We couldn't let that happen. Not again. This was our second chance.

"I know. I know. But, you remember what happened last time with Julie Molina. We don't want that to happen ever again. We have to go about this in a reasonable way, just like Luke said. It'll work, we just have to be patient."

Reggie sighed sadly.

"What an absolute waste."
The girl spoke aloud as she slouched in the seat, taking her last finger off of the dinging key. Her saddened expression gave tell that something was bothering her.
"Where was that energy when we needed it to perform during all of those program opportunities ? Why can't it be this natural and easy all of the time ?"

With a nudge of Reggie's shoulder I reminded him not to speak, as I could tell it was simply eating him alive having to let her continue to suffer alone. We had been gathering new pieces of information about her each week. She'd only been here for a short period of time, but we knew enough to know that she had a huge love for music, just like us. We wanted to help her, we just didn't know how or if it was the right time. It was severely agonizing having to hear her doubt herself almost everyday and it wasn't always just about her passion for music ... which made me feel incredibly guilty for ease-dropping. Not that we could really help it, we were ghosts. To her knowledge she was just talking aimlessly into the wind. She had no idea that three ghosts were occasionally snooping around her house.

"I guess that's something we'll have to work on another day."
She patted the piano with a subtle chuckle as she got up to exit the building.

"Oh man !"
Reggie groaned.
"She really needs us. She needs us now. Like right now !"

I huffed as Reggie rambled on, wanting to chase after her and make his prescience known.

"She definitely needs a hug."
I agreed, almost forgetting that we had priorities we had to keep in check.

"Then what are you waiting for !"
Reggie exclaimed as he leaned his leg over the loft's ladder.
"We've gotta act now — hurry before Luke gets back."

"Reggie, you know we can't do that. As much as we both want to we have to all agree to do this together. In the correct way. I have a good feeling that it's going to be sooner than we may think."