A Life Between Two Streets

Chris - Rohypnol

"Yes Dan, chill, please,"

Dan sure hates surprises.

"No, no, he's cool. I promise."

I trailed off with what little confidence I had in Avery.

"We'll be there in a while, so just calm your titties. Ok? Bye."

It's not a good thing to piss Dan off. I've done shitty things in the past and he let most of it slide because we're best friends. I'm nervous but exhilarated at the same time. Ruining each other's day is like a sport between us.

I walked to the Santoses front door. The big ass wooden door sure looks like it doesn't belong in its frame. This house is silent as fuck. I'm not sure. I look around. The sidewalks are clean; the lighting is good. I look good. But something's off.

Music. I hear music. I know it's not unusual to hear music every now and then, hell, that's what our ears are for, right? But there's something about it that sticks out.

🎶Spirit of my silence I can hear you
But I'm afraid to be near you
And I don't know where to begin
And I don't know where to begin🎶

The sound is sweet and gentle – the sound of strings vibrated from a guitar nearby so I followed it. I walked a few steps back from the door and tiptoed around the house towards the patio.

🎶Somewhere in the desert there's a forest
And an acre before us
But I don't know where to begin
But I don't know where to begin
Again I've lost my strength completely, oh be near me,
Tired old mare with the wind in your hair🎶

How do I even begin to describe his voice? It sounded sad but strangely I wasn't lonely. I didn't know the song and I'd never heard anything like it. I leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and let myself be carried away.

🎶Amethyst and flowers on the table, is it real or a fable?
Well I suppose a friend is a friend
And we all 🎶– WHAT THE FUCK?!

"What the hell Chris?! I almost shat myself!"

"Oh shit," pun intended *inner giggle* I'm so witty. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare me? I thought you were going to kill me!" Avery was putting his guitar back in its case. "Who does that? Really, haven't you ever heard of a doorbell?"

I wanted to tell him to keep playing, to sing those melodious word back to life but he was obviously transported back to earth and transported back with a bang. "I'm harmless. Nothing to be worried about" I said as I invited myself towards him with arms raised and my signature grin.

"You're early, what time is it?"

"I'm not, actually. It's 15 minutes past 9." I reminded him.

"Really? Sheesh. Should we go?"

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. We walked inside the house towards the front door. The house was empty and sparsely lit. "Where is every one?" I asked Avery. Part curious about his family and part disappointed I didn't hear the rest of the song.

"Parents are in Manila, they're rarely here and I think Art had to fix a few papers back in uni so he's gone the entire weekend." Avery stopped at the stairs and turned back to me "wait here, I need to put this back upstairs."