"...I'll be your very first fan"
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The girl let out a small smile while reminiscing about the words she heard from years ago.
She looked at her surroundings ones again as she prepares her picture-perfect smile. And as if to bring her back to reality, the crowd began cheering while what seems to be a tv show theme song plays in background. After that, a person began to speak as the sign that says 'ON AIR' turned from red to green.
"Welcome back to the show."
The person, who appears to be a host, paused for a moment and wait till the insert song finished playing.
"Today, we have a very special guest!"
The Host paused again, as if letting the crowd react to what she just said.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, with her hit single: ‘Twilight Taxi’, Let’s all welcome to the stage: Ms. Hope Gonzales!”
The curtain opens, at the same time, the crowd filled the room with applause as the Girl, whom a while ago was reminiscing something, entered the stage.
The girl in question is a little short for her age. With a black bob cut hair, face with minimal make-up and a red lipstick. Rocking a pink sweater and jeans with white sneakers. Giving an aura of someone who doesn’t care about how she looks yet, somehow, still looks incredibly gorgeous.
As the sound of her song starts to play, the crowd gradually turned silent, and the girl took a deep breath as the song approaches its first verse.
“If we can turn back the time, when everything’s not that complicated…”
All eyes are fixed on the girl as soon as she started singing. Her voice sounded sweet yet powerful, almost angel-like. You have no other choice but to listen.
“…So, if you want, you can come with me.
Let’s drive around our memories in this Twilight Taxi…”
The songs weren’t happy or anything, in fact, it’s the opposite of that. And you can really tell by the emotion it entails, yet you can’t help but be in awe by the raw talent being displayed by the singer of the song.
“…If you have the time, then just call me, let’s take another ride in this Twilight Taxi.”
The song reached its end, and yet, the crowd was silent. The girl was standing in the middle of the stage while taking another deep breath followed by a sigh of relief. It took a few seconds before the crowd snapped back and started clapping and cheering, as if they were in the process of retrieving all emotions that got laid bare.
The host immediately stood and started talking after realizing that a dead air has occurred. It seems that she’s also affected by the song, but is professional enough to handle it immediately.
“What a wonderful performance from Ms. Hope Gonzales!”
The host approached the girl and shook her hand.
“Welcome to the Show, Hope.”
“Thanks for having me here, Andrea.”
The girl smiled and politely thanked the host.
“Come, let’s take a seat.”
The host then lead the girl to her sit. When she’s sure that the girl is comfortable, she continued talking.
“Once again, welcome to the show, Hope. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”
“The pleasure was mine.”
The girl appears to be a bit fidgety, which the host immediately noticed.
“Are you nervous?”
The host playfully asked.
“Ah, No, no, no. It’s not like that. It’s just- “
The girl looked around at her surroundings.
“-I didn’t think I would end up singing in this stage. I’m just an ordinary fan of your show. Who would’ve expected someone like me to end up singing in front of this audience? It’s just… Overwhelming.”
The host let out a small smile while looking at the girl.
“You certainly are famous right now, if not, then you will not be invited in this show… But you know what? You’re so down to earth despite of your popularity. I like you already.”
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The host then changed the topic.
“By the way, let’s talk about the song you’ve just sang for us, Twilight Taxi. I know that almost everyone in this room, including me, had saved Twilight Taxi in their playlist and listened to it for hours on repeat. It really was that good and relatable. But for some reason, hearing it live makes it a hundred times more emotional. Like, we’re all having flashbacks of our own experiences through that song. How’d you do that?”
“In all honesty, I really don’t know. But there’s one thing I learned from my experience, and it probably is the most important one: Music is a poetry. You don’t just recite poetry, you feel it, you make it yours. You use it to convey what you feel to your audience. Imagine a poet who’s just reciting without becoming one with his poem, there’s no emotion, no connection made with the audience, it’s no different than a gong being hit by a child: An irritating noise to the ears… At least a professional knows how to handle it correctly…”
The girl took a momentary pause while looking at her hands, which is clasped together, then looked at the audience and the host and continued speaking.
“What I’m saying is, When I sing, I make sure that the audience feels what I feel, connects with me through my music, and in turn, makes it more personal to them.”
The host nodded slightly and continued talking.
“Is there anything, or anyone, that you consider as your inspiration in writing your song?”
“When writing songs, I prefer taking inspiration to my own experiences. I really don’t care if the beat’s not catchy or the music’s not that relevant anymore. What’s important is for me to deliver my thoughts, my experiences and my emotions through my own songs. Regardless of it being popular or not.”
The host was looking at the girl while smiling and nodding at her answer. After that, she continued.
“If that’s the case, can you share us your inspiration for Twilight Taxi?”
The girl’s eyes suddenly widened as soon as she heard the question. She looked as if she was caught off guard by the question.
“Hope? You okay?”
The host asked worryingly after The Girl did not respond for a few second. The girl, who appeared to suddenly snapped back to reality after being out of it for a few seconds.
“Ah, no. no. I mean yes, I’m okay. It’s just…”
The girl looked at her still clasped hands once again and continued.
“…it’s nostalgic.”
The girl continued with eyes that looks like its reminiscing the past.
“I wrote Twilight Taxi for my childhood friend, Michael...”
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“I know!”
“What is it now?”
“I will become a famous singer!”
“Yeah right.”
“What gives!”
“Well, before, you want to be an actress. And a Chef before that. So, I guess…”
“But this time, it’s real!”
“Yeah, Hope.”
“No, really!”
“Ok, then. If you ever manage to make a song, just one, then I promise that I will be your very first fan.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. I’ll be your very first fan!”
“Thanks, Michael! I also promise that I will be the best singer in the world!”
“Well, that’s a little… farfetched.”
“Come on, if you’re going to support me, then support me all the way.”
“Okay, okay. Stop hitting me.”
“Hehehe”
A conversation between two friends from years ago, a remnant from the past. Something that a certain girl holds dear.
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"He's my very first fan. He died years ago."
The girls expression looks bittersweet, as if remembering about her childhood friend brought her joy and sadness at the same time. The host, realizing that she just brought a sensitive subject, quickly regretted her question.
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
As the girl looked at the host, the host could see the sadness in the girl's eyes, something that the girl wants to hide.
"No, it's okay. I've gotten over that already. Anyway, Thank you."
The girl noticed that the crowd, as well as the host, were all silent, as if trying to sympathize with her. She then proceed to talk about the song.
"If you listen really carefully, Twilight Taxi is about someone who wants to turn back time time to, once again, be with someone they hold dear. but since they can't really go back in time, they just try to remember those memories when they were still together."
The girl clasped her hands harder.
"The Twilight Taxi represents the memories of the person who has lost someone special. That person wants to visit the memories in which they are still together, because he knew that he can no longer be with that special someone."
A tear began to flow in the girl's eyes, but she brushed it quickly and continued talking.
"Funnily Enough, Twilight Taxi is also the very first song I wrote in my entire career."
The host, who noticed the girl's tears, quickly intervened.
"Michael is a very lucky man, he's you're very first fan after all. he believed in you and, based on how you dedicated the song for him, he gave you the push you need to reach your dreams."
The girl then looked directly at the camera.
"Hey Michael! I'm a famous singer now! I'm not joking like you think I was... You said you will be my very first fan when I wrote my very first song, but why. I didn't ask you to be the reason for my first song, you know."
At this point, the girl's tears we're on the verge of falling and she's already sniffing while talking. the host handed her the tissue box and the girl immediately wiped the tears that escaped in her eyes.
"Do you need a minute?"
The girl, who's wiping her eyes, replied,
"No, thanks. We can continue."
The girl then slapped her face with both of her hands.
"Wooo! Alright, I'm fine. Hahahaha"
The laughter resounded through the studio. The girl then muttered something softly that no one heard it.
The host then resumed the interview.
"Alright, how about we go past the tearjerkers and go back to good old fun talk. How about that?"
"Sure"
The girl replied while smiling.
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The interview continued for a while. The host asked a variety of questions and the girl answered. The crowd also appeared to be enjoying the conversation.
"Let's talk about your career... I heard that you started as a street performer."
"Yup. I'm actually quite fond of my roots, you know."
"Can you share to us your experience as a street performer? Oh, before that, Can you tell us where you used to perform?"
"Anywhere? I occasionally change place so that I can perform to different sets of people. Gotta Earn, you know. especially because I need to fund my schooling and living expenses since I live on my own. Oh, Remembering it makes me smile."
"Do you remember any particular spot where you performed? The audience might know where it was and go there and they can say that they are standing in where you once stood, you know, for bragging rights."
"I'm not that famous! Hahahaha. Anyways, I do remember a place where I performed frequently."
"Oh, and where's that?"
"It was in front of a Coffee Shop. I think it's called Café Veza."