If music be the food of love...play on (OPEN!!)

[annettelivingston]

Annette pushed open the large doors to the music hall even though she loved what she was doing but she also loved music. She moved softly threw the room finding a chair and a piano that had been left out she was use to a guitar but the piano was her second love.

Slowly she lifted the lid the keys Ivory and black sat in front of her. Slowly she let her hands brush the smooth keys one pushed down and a C note sounded. She smiled and pressed another slowly and surly she began to play feeling relaxed at the sound of the notes that seem to fill the air around her. The vibrations of the strings threw her fingers seem to ignite a passion she had lost for many years. Her feet moved to the peddles as her fingers moved back and forth over the ivory and black keys. Her heart lifting as the music lifted, the more she played each note.

Closing her eyes she continued ,till she could play no more and it ended only to move to another tune she loved to play. Her body drifting with the music she played that echoed around the empty room, it made her think of open spaces and forests , children laughing and the warm sun beating down on her. Fun, laughter and friends.

She sighed as she played, a small smile crossing her face as now realizing no matter how hard her life became, she still had music that she could play and enjoy. The more she sat and played the more she just wanted to stay sat at that piano. But also the more self conscious she became of being discovered buy some one and having to explain why she was there and how she played the piano. Her heart and soul was focused on her fingers gliding back and forth over the keys as she played, sometimes it was slow some times it was fast but her tempo was never the same. With each strike a key made on its string it sent a new note singing into the air.

Annette found her self felling again as if a child sat at home at the piano playing for her mother and father happy and carefree. Her feet still pressed each peddle to soften the sound as her body moved in time to the keys she struck. As she played her heart now beating in time to it, the harder she played the more passion she felt slipping from her into it. She smiled as she played loving it and the feel, the sound, the passion. She had forgot with all her anger and sadness just how much she had. Now she realized she could set it free, in each note, with each sound that came from the instruments she played. Her life, her passions, her torments could all be set out into the world threw the simple hitting of a key. She was now truly lost to the music, not caring if any one found her or heard her, she was happy, finally.


( the music Annette is playing. )

[charlypowers]

... x ...

She had never been a student at the high school, having been told of the University after finishing her senior year of education. Despite this, she regularly appeared around the lush campus, especially at night--some students had caught glimpses of her skeletal features and large eyes moving between trees, and she had unintentionally scared the bejeezus out of them; it was a common reaction. Currently, the Concert Hall was one of her favorite haunts. She enjoyed taking candid photographs of students as they rehearsed or played in what they thought to be privacy.

Sitting behind one of the velvet curtains pushed off to the side of the stage area, she had been sitting on the shiny wooden floor and rubbing her fingers delicately over the material of the pull-rope. Charly loved textures, and was a bit obsessive-compulsive about touching things that looked like they would have an interesting feel.

As soon as the entrance door was pushed open, her acute sense of hearing tuned to the footsteps approaching the piano, and she moved her wide gaze slowly to the corner of her vision to watch what took place--never blinking or moving her head. She sat still in this position for a few moments, picking up each stroke of the keys and steeling her brain for the loud noises that were to come. Charly hated loud noises.

Though, as the stranger began to play more rhythmically, and obviously with more emotion, the waifish young woman became more and more interested. Deftly reaching for her camera lying on the floor next to her, never looking to see where her hand landed, she crept on hands and knees to the end of the piano, her flannel pajama pants gliding over the smooth surface of the wood. Reaching the butt end of the instrument, she couldn't resist running a hand against its smooth, shiny surface distractedly, before rising up so that just her head could be seen from the musician's seat at the keys.

Never breaking a smile, nor blinking, she raised her camera to her eye and peered into the viewfinder, finger itching against the shutter button. Finally, as the player seemed to pour her entirety into the music she produced, Charly could stand it no longer---click.

A blinding flash lit up the area, and the camera made a loud whirring noise as its gears turned. Wordlessly, the photographer slid back down to the floor, leaning back against the piano and staring at the front of her camera, waiting.

[annettelivingston]

Annette was so intent on her music she didn't see the young girl up on the piano till it was to late the flash catching her off guard, She looked up jumping she moved back slipping from the stood to tumble to the ground her head hit the cold floor and she lay quiet as the word spun round her slowly blacking out around her till she could see nothing but hear only the soft sound of her heart beating and her breath gentle and the throb of a pain from the back of her mind as she lay.

Soon it subsided and she slowly sat up groaning as she grasped her head to help it stop throbbing. She looked up at the piano seeing a small thin girl looking at her and sighed as she slowly sat up.
“why did you do that you scared the living daylights out of me, not to mention the lump I'm going to have on the back of my head from hitting the floor” she moved slowly to sit back on the stool and looked at her closer. Annette delved into her bag that she had brought and placed buy the piano's leg taking out a small bottle of water and some aspirin.

“I'm always ready for any situation.” she said and took the tablet and a swig of water. Looking back at her she spoke softer this time. “ So, how long have you been in here?” she asked hoping she had only just arrived and not heard her playing the piano. She paused and took a deep breath as she felt the lump on the back of her head throbbing as she rested on the now closed lid of the piano. She took a deep breath in smelling the dust from the floor on her hands and clothing.

“I am so going to need a shower when I get back to my dorm room “ she groaned brushing some dust from the leg of her trousers watching as it rose into the air in front of her. She looked at the girl and leaned forward further. “well you going to say?” she said with a warm smile one she had rarely used in the months she had been at the school. She reached up and brushed her hair from her face wincing as her fingers brushed over the place she had hit on the floor.

[charlypowers]

... x ...

With her fantastic sense of hearing, Charly knew very well what was going on behind her--the startling, the tumble, and the landing. Though it would probably be polite to turn around and apologize or at least ask if she was alright, the project at hand was much too interesting to remove her attention from. The subject of the photograph was talking and rummaging around in her bag noisily, and finally for a brief moment Charly looked up at her.

The younger student was talking, and directing questions at her. Possibly, she was irritated--her head probably ached, after all. Just as possibly, she was confused as to what had just happened. Social finesse was not one of Charly Powers's strongest characteristics.

"Hello," she said in a peaceful tone. Before anything else was ever said, Charly always found it best to start out with a greeting. Once the word was said, she returned her gaze to the Polaroid which she still held in her lap. At that moment, a photograph rolled out of the slot and she pulled it gingerly away from the camera, waving it in the air at her side.

"I've been here for....what time is it?" she asked nobody in particular, glancing at her watch before staring off into the empty seats of the concert hall. "One hour and forty-two minutes, and some odd seconds."

The strange photographer looked extremely tired--there were bags beneath her wide eyes and her face was even paler than usual, and her shoulders slumped a bit in exhaustion. Her fitted black T-shirt looked worn in and rumpled, as if she had been wearing it for a while and had maybe taken a few naps in it. Her voice had a dulcimer, dream-like quality to it as she continued to speak.

"This is a very good photograph." she stated, without actually looking at it to see it for herself. "Look." Without making a move to stand, she held the picture up to Annette, turning her head to look at the girl again.

The photo was interesting, having been snapped at the moment of Annette's most intimate playing of the piano and just before the flash had interrupted the mood. The waxy, luminescent quality of the floor in the background sent up spheres of light into the frame and the red curtain bunched up into the background gave striking contrast to the musician. There was a magical effect to it. Charly specialized in such things.

[annettelivingston]

Annette listened to the girl on the piano and sighed as she said she had been watching for over an hour, sitting up she looked at the picture she held and smiled " it is a good one" she said and smiled at the young girl as she took a drink of her water from her water bottle than now sat on the top of the piano. Grasping it she slowly twisted the lid pressing the bottle to her lips she felt the cool liquid run down her throat quenching the thirst she felt. With the lid tightly screwed back on she placed it in her bag that lay next to her on the floor.

"My names Annette, whats yours?" she asked and smiled at her hoping to show she had no hard feelings for the fall. In fact she had found it some what as she thought back to how she must have looked to her as she went back. She looked at the scraggly girl in front of her and brushed her own blond hair from her face as she watched her closer. Her head might have felt like it had been threw a baseball game but she hid it not really wanting a young girl to see her pain even after taking pain killers for it.

Slowly standing she picked up her bag and let the lid of the piano closed down as she watched the girl. She shifted and brushed the dirt from her trousers as she looked at her one more time. She faced her and lent on the piano top watching her as she watch her.

" why do you take those for and what do you do with them" she asked her arms folded in front of her as she lent on it feeling the smooth of the polished surface against her warm skin. She wondered why a girl would take photos of random doing what they loved capturing the very essence of how they felt. " Do you take those because you want to remember that one moment ?" she asked " I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions but I'm curious to know" she sighed causing the polished surface to mist up she started to draw matchstick people dancing in the condensation. Her finger seeming just to flow as she drew aimlessly.

" well I just came here to play the piano " she said " sometimes i get so down i need something to kick start me again and laying this , she brushed the lid " helps" she smiled