Hello. I am Valentine. This is something I have been thinking about lately. A world where music is illegal, and it takes you to a different world. Please comment or review if you think it deserves it. Thanks so much. Enjoy.
I dream a thousand futures. Sometimes I sit alone, watching the sky cry against my bedroom window. I don’t know if I am the only one who sees the sadness. It’s as if the life itself has retreated to a dark corner, leaving the world so dark and cold. I dream of something new. Something that will make life bloom, and bring the world to flourish. But I just sit back and join the sky- knowing that there is nothing that will fulfill me, and I will never truly know what I want.
~January 12
“What do you expect to get out of this anyway?” Tad asked. His eyes remained on the road, the leafless trees running past.
“I told you already: I don’t know.” I said. That was the truth. I had called him just an hour ago, begging for a ride. I tried to blame the reckless decision on curiosity. Deep down I knew it was much than that.
“You do know that we could get kicked out of Manor for this,” Tad said, drumming his figures against the steering wheel. “Heck, we could die. People die doing this you know; there’s a reason it’s illegal.”
I let out sigh. “Well, you can explain to Violet how you were too scared,” I said, and slid my feet up onto the dashboard. The hypnotic hum of the car’s motor was starting to make my sleepy. “It’s not even that big of a deal. Chill out. “
“Really? Not a big deal? Last time I checked, a thousand deaths in a year is a big deal.”
“Just drop me off then.” His lip twitched and his jaw was clenched. The thumping on the steering wheel quickened, which always meant he was having an argument with himself.
My eyes returned to the road. It was almost an hour drive to the inner part of the city. The car drastically darkened as we entered the Spire tunnel. Thousands of orange lights streaked past and we were going fast enough that they blended together to form endless glowing lines. I had actually never been through this tunnel before. The inner city was technically off limits to all Manor students. But then again, so was breaking 10:30 curfew and the clock had just hit twelve. Screw it. I was done following the rules.
***
“We’re here.”
Tad’s voice sent me snapping upright, gasping.
“You told me to chill out.” Tad said.
I wiped the sleep from my eyes and fumbled to zip up my jacket. We were parked outside what looked like a condemned townhouse. Graffiti scrawled across boarded up windows. “You sure this is the right place?” I asked.
Tad looked at me, his mouth open in mock offense.
“Yeah. I’m sure,” he said.
My gaze returned to the building. It definitely looked like how I imagined a musicbox. But never actually having seen one before, the picture in my mind was due to have some flaws. As I thought about it, I realized I didn’t even understand what “musicbox” meant. Apparently it was a pun off some old instrument. My heart jumped at the word. Tonight I would finally know. Tonight, I would finally experience it.
“Let’s go,” Tad said, shaking me from my thoughts.
“You’re coming?” I asked in surprise, letting out a smile. He mirrored my expression.
“Heck yeah. Let’s do this.”
My shoes met the sidewalk and a cold rush of air hit my face. Glancing around, I was relieved to see that we were alone, and it didn’t look like anybody had been down this road in a very long time. I assumed that either fire or poverty had claimed this street; and it was probably a bit of both. There were a couple bakeries and various shops, but their signs were rusted with neglect. This place definitely seemed perfect for what we were about to do.
We reached the boarded door and I knocked. The wood stung my knuckles. We waited for a few seconds, and finally heard muffled footstep inside. Our breath hung still in the air for a moment and then the board was slid to reveal a pair of eyes. I froze. They were blue. Warm, deep, blue. Maybe it was the fact that I had only seen such brilliance once before, but it literally stopped my breathing. They were my mother’s eyes. I was totally unprepared for the waterfall of memories that ensued and tears started to fill my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to shake the sadness and the eyes quickly disappeared.
“It’s Sim and Thaddeus,” a voice said from inside. It was so muffled I could barely understand it. Tad and I exchanged glances of amazement as the board was pulled completely away. Violet stood in its place, a huge smile spread across her face. She was average height for a girl, and her shoulder-length brown hair blew in her eyes. But in an instant I could tell that hers were not blue; just lifeless grey like the rest of the world.
“You guys came!” she said, and gave us both hugs. A strange scent lingered behind her that I couldn’t place. “Come in, come in,” she said, motioning inside.
The inside of the building wasn’t any plusher than the outside. Giant cracks webbed across the naked walls and mold caked the ceiling where moisture had seeped in. I smiled to myself at the thought of the structure of the building being more dangerous than what we were actually going to do inside it.
The only light was from a dozens of candles on the ground. They were lined up on the outskirts of the entryway, providing just enough of an ominous glow to illuminate the room. A pair of footsteps met my ears and another figure came around the corner. My chest tightened. It was another girl, and her eyes were the ones I had seen earlier. I didn’t have much time to process before Violet spoke again.
“You guys got here just in time. We’re about to start.” She crossed the entryway and the new girl opened what looked like to be the cellar door. They turned and motioned for us to descend. The stairs creaked beneath us. They were deeper than I was used to, and I struggled to stay balanced. As we neared the bottom, Tad let out a suppressed grunt as his head hit the ceiling. I would normally have laughed. But not tonight. My throat was too dry. My heart was flying.
I was greeted at the bottom by two more guys. Well, greeted is a bit of an exaggeration. One of them lay sprawled on the ground cradling something I didn’t recognize to his chest. The other sat next to him, talking in a hushed tone.
They looked up only as Violet spoke.
“Seth, Dillon. This is Simeon and Thaddeus. They’re gonna be joining us today.”
They looked genuinely happy to see us. Their eyes were bright and their faces looked kind. The one named Dillon had long wavy hair, tossed in a heap on his head. Seth looked very similar, so much so I thought they must be twins. They both were still in their Manor uniforms, and by the way they held themselves, I didn’t think they cared a bit what they looked like.
It was odd. I always imagined musicians looking sicklier. They were always pictured as skinny, lifeless people. These kids looked not only healthy, but full of life.
“Tonight. They’re going to be joining us tonight, not today,” Seth said.
“Well really it’s kind of relative,” Dillon returned.
“How is that relative?” Seth said, and looked up to us for support. I struggled to think of anything to say and when my mouth opened, Violet cut me off.
“Ignore them,” she said and walked over to us. “This is Lilly,” said began, motioning to girl with the eyes, “Those are her two idiot brothers. “
I realized only moments after staring into Lily’s vibrant eyes that she was looking back at me. She laughed quietly, and I quickly averted my gaze.
“Well then,” Violet said and paused, which made me think she had seen the awkward exchange. “We had better get started then. We don’t have all night.”
I noticed Tad had found his way over to Violet and they sat down near the brothers. I walked over and joined them. The bare concrete floor felt refreshing. I was breaking a sweat and my hands felt clammy.
“Do you know what this is?” Dillon asked, holding out the object I hadn’t recognized.
“No idea,” I said. It was odd looking, long and slender, like a thin tree branch, but there were holes drilled in it and strange shapes carved on the ends.
“It’s a flute,” Seth said. His eyes widened which made me think he was waiting for a response. “It’s an instrument,” he finally said.
Tad’s breathing paused.
“Are you serious? Like a real instrument?” I said in shock. I didn’t know that anybody had instruments anymore, let alone some kids.
“What do you think we do? Listen to half infected mp3’s all day?” Violet asked.
I guess she was right. All I knew was that after the government had released the virus destroy all music files, that not all were destroyed. I just assumed that they had found some. The punishment for that was heavy enough. But having an instrument, actually creating music, was a thousand fold worse. I would never have guessed that they actually had one. Maybe Tad was right, this was way too risky. Frantic excuses to leave crashed around in my head, but then Dillon started to play it.
The first image that entered my mind was a wolf. A lone wolf, standing on the perch of a cliff, snow falling in streaks past his face, melting on his nose. I imagined him craning his neck to the sky, fur flattened by the wind, and letting out a howl. But what burst from his mouth was neither shrill nor eerie. It was beauty itself. It danced through my head, leaving ribbons of color behind. The notes pulsed and fluttered like butterflies. It was so fragile and intricate that I didn’t dare breath. Gradually, joined in- just a low hum that released the tension in my spine. The singing grew louder but I couldn’t make out words. I felt myself start to sway back and forth. In that moment, I was not human. I was only a whisper.
I don’t know how long the music continued for. A thousand scenes flashed through my mind and they carried me with them. I had neither the want, nor the will-power to stop it. Memories from my past presented themselves in blurred landscapes. A million abstract images that triggered recollection. Sooner or later, my voice joined the others without my instruction. We were the voices in the wilderness. I wished it would go on forever. But as sudden as it came, the music faded away. The dark cellar ebbed back into vision. We sat in silence that rang in my ears. I had too many words.
“How do you feel?” Lily asked. The sound of her voice float in throbbing strands of energy into my ears.
I took several breathes before I answered. My whole body was shaking.
“I feel alive.” I managed to say.
The others nodded and smiled.
“I feel free.”
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