With each mouthful of cereal she ate, two contrasting feelings fought in her body. The first told her to continue, so the body could absorb all it could before it was poured into the toilet. While the other persuaded her to stop, to end it all. Maybe she could cut herself once again, coincidentally going too deep, causing her to bleed out. Or, she could go into the disordered garage and grab firm, uncomfortable ropes, and accidentally tie them to her neck before they somehow ended up on the ceiling fan. All before she took a random misstep and fell.

In the end, her instinct to continue won, but not by a large degree.

She continued to provide sustenance to her body before she finished the meal she had prepared.

Then, she stood up and took it to a sink full of dishes and take-out containers, adding her bowl to the pile.

Seconds later, she found herself on the couch again, passing the time by with dead eyes.

Various channels flickered on the TV as her phone remained deadly silent next to her. After multiple channel changes, she finally stopped at a documentary about wildlife. She then spent the next thirty minutes sitting, attentively watching the documentary, before an ad break commenced on the screen.

She mindlessly watched before her eyes wandered to a corner of the room.

There, covered in thick dust, sat a piano that had not been used in years. The last time was when she had her now ex-boyfriend over for dinner, with her parents present. Staring at the old piano, she reminisced about that incredible day.

It was a nicely prepared dinner where she introduced him to them. Just by his college major and looks, they were both impressed at how good of a catch their daughter made. On that day, after they all sat down, eating their specially made Italian dinner, her mother commented on their relationship.

“Jack… I would not have assumed that you’d take a child as scatterbrained as mine to be yours.”

Surprised by the comment, he stopped eating before swallowing everything remaining in his mouth. After, he responded, perplexed.

“Mrs. Abram, I’m sorry, but… Yasmine is an absolutely brilliant-minded person.

“Don’t flatter her; she’ll become full of herself if you do.”

Jack was left speechless; no matter what he said, it would sound disrespectful or cocky. But Yasmine came to his rescue.

“Stop, Mother; we’re trying to have a nice dinner.

Mrs. Abram stared at her for a moment before digging deeper.

“Hmph! Do not try and speak to me as though I am your equal; how ungrateful.”

Yasmine did not respond, choosing to pull her head down and brace for the oncoming assault.

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“See! This is the exact reason why I wanted to name her something more intellectual. I hoped to bring at least some intelligence into her head.”

She then looked to her left to see Mr. Abram eating the food she with a grin, completely tuning out her talk.

Seeing this, Mrs. Abram began an attack on him as well.

“I would have named her something better, but this tub of lard decided for me! Choosing Yasmine, an absolutely meaningless name.”

Mr. Abram was pushed back into reality and attempted to defend himself.

“Honey, calm down; we have company with us today.”

Mrs. Abram looked back at Jack before calming down.

“Well, I suppose you’re correct.”

Mr. Abram sighed softly before speaking to Yasmine and Jack.

Now, let us continue eating this delicious meal.”

Jack smiled before nodding and continuing to eat. All four ate as an awkward atmosphere enveloped the clean dining room. Jack, feeling it even more than the others, attempted to lighten the mood. He looked around the room before noticing a spotless antique piano in the corner of the room. After a bit of contemplation, he inquired about it.

“Yasmine… Do you know how to play the piano?”

Yasmine looked up at him before looking towards the piano.

“Yeah, I stopped taking lessons though, so I’m a little rusty.”

Before Mrs. Abram could interrupt their conversation, Jack inquired further.

“Really!? Could you play me something!”Yasmine noticed the gleam in his eyes in anticipation. Although she had not played in a while, she still knew some pieces that she had taken an interest in.

Whether they would sit well with Jack, she did not know. They had only recently begun their relationship, after all.

She stood up and walked towards the piano in her dress. Passing her clean living room, she arrived at the corner of the room before sitting down on the piano stool. The earrings she was wearing glistened as she moved, and in Jack’s eyes, she looked like the perfect human when sitting on that stool. Her shoulder-level blonde hair shined ever so beautifully in his eyes as dark blue eyes focused on the piano. And in her dress, he was amazed and attracted to her all over again.

With her soft hand, she moved down to the keys, getting into position. Seconds passed before she began pressing them softly yet firmly. Her hand moved with elegance as each note that played proceeded the last. A beautiful melody filled the room as she continued playing the piece. The song she was playing was something she enjoyed very deeply. Each note played moved her in a way no other piece could. It was a piece that spoke to her and comforted her.

Jack stared in awe as he grew more attracted to her. From the sidelines, he cheered and wooed her on. Hearing this, she grew ever more confident and began playing the piece more naturally.

Towards the end, he cheered her on even more. When it did end, he exclaimed in praise as he went towards her to hug her.

“That was incredible, Yasmine!! It was the best thing I’ve ever heard!!”

Smiling from ear to ear, she loved the praise he was giving her. She had longed for the love he gave, and she took it all without question. Hearing his steps, she turned and also got into a hugging position. Yet when she did turn, no one was there.

She was back in the messy house she had grown accustomed to as the documentary finally began again. Anxiously, she turned to the dining room table to see the mess she had just eaten with.

Her father, mother, and especially Jack, were gone.

This was obvious, though. Everything was part of her memory, having happened in the past. Jack was also in the past, gone, scrubbed from the present.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she sat on the piano stool before, from the kitchen door, Mr. Abram spoke.

“That was a nice song, honey.”

With tears falling from her eyes, she turned to see her exhausted father, back from a hard day of work. He then placed a bag of fast food on the dining room table before coming closer.

“What is it called?”

He spoke in a soft voice, attempting not to harm her.”

“It’s called… Once upon a time.”

He looked at her with his brown eyes before responding.

“It was beautiful.”

Even more tears fell from her dark blue eyes before she looked up at him and spoke.

“Yeah… it was.”