Taken

Chapter 2

Music.

            It's soft at first, barely noticeable, just the smooth playing of the piano and harp in perfect harmony. Each note blends into one another, sending a soothing feeling over my body as the sound warms me. It starts at my toes and slowly works its way up until I'm enveloped in something I have never felt before, something that leaves me confused with whether I should enjoy it―or fear it.

            The music grows louder and I hear a voice added to it, the lyrics undecipherable, but the voice beautiful. It's better than anyone I have ever heard before, hitting each note in perfect pitch and leaving me with the same feeling as the music. For some reason, the voice sounds familiar, like something I heard in a dream, but I can't place it.

            I open my eyes and blink them.

            Once.

            Twice.

            Three times before taking a look around my room. I sit up to get a better view.

            Everything is how it's supposed to be; my closet door shut, glossy wooden chair tucked into the matching desk with my finished homework stacked neatly on top, and my clean school uniform for the next day laid out at the end of my bed with my bag on the floor beside it. The white sheer curtains are closed, the moonlight still visible as it gives my room a ghostly hew.

            I furrow my eyebrows, confused as to what the music is and why I can hear it. Did someone leave a radio on? Or maybe Mother got a new ringtone on her phone. I'm not so sure. When I glance towards the hallway, I see light crawling into my room, growing brighter with each passing second. I frown.

            Mother?

            I climb out of bed and try not to make a sound as I tiptoe to the hallway, stepping on the floorboards that I know won't creak. I grab onto the door frame and peek down the hall towards the source of the light, my head poking out of my room. I wince when the floorboard I am standing on creaks from me shifting my weight forward. I step to the right so as not to make the same mistake again.

            The first thing I notice is that Mother's door is still shut and I scold myself. Of course Mother isn't up, she wouldn't have heard the music anyway. She's the heaviest sleeper in the house.

            My eyes glide past her door and I see where the light is coming from. It seeps from underneath my sister's door, squeezing through the cracks and landing on the floor in a large white patch that glows brighter and brighter. My eyes widen as I clutch the door frame, my knuckles turning white from my iron-like grip.

            I suck in a breath as the music grows louder, the mesmerizing tones dancing around me and enveloping my thoughts. I take a step forward and into the hall, my legs seeming to move on their own. My thoughts mist over with a metaphorical fog, being replaced by the beautiful music that controls my every move.