The young Terna kept playing her violin on and on at a small corner of the marina, hidden from the view of others. She stopped for a moment again, distracted by the same ocean she had so easily gotten used to. She was never once afraid of the abyss below the surface, but would rather curiously wonder what was beneath. She was then surprised to look at Cecilia, approaching her from the side.
“Hey kiddo, got a little bit distracted I see?” Cecilia happily approached her.
“O-Oh. Mrs. Cecilia. Hi.”, she was surprised, “How did you…find me? My music wasn’t that loud, was it?”
“Nope. As quiet as it always is. Viola was just looking for you and she told me where you’d usually hang out.” she sat beside Terna, “So, can I see what the Great Maestra Terna is putting in the making?”
“I-I…I don’t know. My music is normally…not good. I’d rather perform for you privately with a known piece if you don’t mind.” Terna tried to hide her sheets.
“If you don’t wanna show me, it’s fine. I won’t be pushing you to it. We all have things we don’t wanna share, just that I was really curious is all.”
Terna thought about it, “I…you know me. If I’m ever to become something of notice like my maestro said, I need to be judged by strangers.”
“I don’t really believe in making things mellow, you know. Call it rudeness, but the way I chose to live, I had to be harshly judged. Unlike training, for me, one mistake during the real thing will most likely not allow me to make another one after. However, you can be judged again and again, improving during practice and during the real thing. They say that we have to fail to succeed, right? I wouldn’t know, since that sounds way too stereotypical for me to believe.” Cecilia chuckled.
“I have to ask, Miss Cecilia. Why…why are you so nice to me?”
“What kinda question is that Terna? Why wouldn’t I? I mean, you’re not a bad kid, are you? I like to treat people like they treat others. And you’re in for a nice ride, given how much everyone tells me how good you are back home. If you were a bad influence, I doubt you’d be hanging out with Angelica, Angelico and Dante.”
“T-Then…u-um…can I ask you something?” she scarily asked.
“Sure, no need to be scared. Say it.”
“If you treat people like they treat others…um…why do you…hate Dante?”
Cecilia jolted, “Is…is that how you perceive it?”
“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this, I’ll go back to mom-“, young Terna was stopped before she got up.
Cecilia sighed, “You realized by now…he’s special, right?”
Terna stopped her haste, “Um…yes. He’s…kind of being hurt by other kids.”
Cecilia’s face turned even grimmer, “I see…but no, that’s not the reason why. I love every single one of them, to the point where neglecting myself for all four of them wasn’t an issue at all…but I can’t simply discriminate against Dante. His powers…they’re mine. Something which I thought would be entirely impossible to inherit. They will destroy him eventually…I can’t help but train him. It’s the only way I can be on top of him 24/7 and be sure that he doesn’t hurt himself more than he has to. I…I might have gone too far, but I don’t care. So long as he’s fine, he can hate me with a burning passion. But I can’t let what I had taken away what it did from me in the same way for him.”
Terna sat back down, looking at a saddened Cecilia and realizing her mistake of bringing up that conversation. She shuffled through her sheets again and pulled out that same sheet she worked on for days to present to her maestro.
“This…I worked on this for a long time. It was supposed to be presented today, but I have a few more left. Here,” she gave Cecilia her song.
“Wait, what? What…is this?”
“It’s a song I was writing for a play but I started having second thoughts about it…I thought of singing it for everyone, especially Dante, for their birthday but…I don’t think I’d muster the strength to sing in front of anyone by then. I’d rather play my music silently in the back.”
Cecilia softly smiled at Terna, “Hmm. You really are a good kid. Sorry for bothering you with stuff so heavy, you being as young as you are...just that I had hoped you'd be able to convey a message to him better than I ever would, given how he acts around me nowadays. But say…do you honestly think the same as everyone else when you look back at me and Dante? Sorry, just that…this really bothers me.”
“Dante would always be mad about you…he never stopped telling us of how bad the whole Silver Lance thing got. He used to fantasize all the time about being as strong as you and as proud as those soldiers, but…not anymore. We kind of…I’m sorry. But we really are worried about him, at the same time, we don’t really want to be around him…he has changed. We don’t see him smile so much anymore. He’s always training and rarely hangs out and when he does, he really doesn’t talk much unless we provoke him to do so. We miss him…me, Anya and his siblings.”
“Very mature for someone your age I’d say. And…I guess I should apologize. Shouldn’t have pushed you to say all this.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I really like everyone anyway, so I’m perfectly ok with talking about them. I don’t believe that we can be happy all the time…that’s rarely the case. And I also don’t believe that it’s necessary to go through sadness to gain happiness. But talking about it always makes me feel like I can make the bad good and the good better. I just…I didn’t want to make you feel sad about it. I know deep down Dante is still the same and he loves everyone unconditionally, like me…I really do love everyone, because, without them, I struggle to see how I could be where I am today. That day when I bumped into Angelico in school, he introduced me to Angelica and thanks to her experience with the Sister Knights, she encouraged me to join Aria Mista and start showing my music to everyone. Without Anya promoting me in the city left and right no one would ever hear me and without Dante actually going out of his way to give up on his practice test, before my first show as a violinist at the side, just to come and cheer me on…”, Terna paused briefly tracing her rumbling back, “A-Ah, sorry! Please don’t get him in trouble for that!”
“What, him giving up a practice Silver Lance test made from me exclusively for him to cheer you on?” Cecilia chuckled, “I’d have done the same. And I believe Angelico and Angelica would too…so would Freya.”
“I haven’t seen her for so long…where has she gone?”
“Studying abroad. She was way too fast of a learner to be left in Dirunon like that, so she went along with her uncle to another place for following her dreams. I will be, she sounded as smart as you from the mere age of 9. I can’t ever look back whenever I get like this and be so proud of every single one of my kids, you know. Dante and Angelico both wanted to live tales of glory and excitement with their respective Lances, Angelica chose to go down the path of the Sister Knights and help those around her physically and mentally and Freya wanted to take her own ‘secret’ path. Don’t really know about the last one, she always knew what she wanted but also wanted it to be a secret. I just wish that they all eventually find their way. Now, I know your mother sent me to get you but I don’t think she will be worried for you since I was sent here. Do you mind, you know? Helping me understand how to sing this? I really do not get note writing very well…” Cecilia nervously chuckled.
“Yes, it’s as easy as cooking, really! Here, I’ll show you.” she pointed at the sheets Cecilia was holding onto.
Cecilia nervously smiled again, “If it’s anything like cooking…yeah…”
“Hmm? You don’t know how to? Doesn’t every mom prepare food?”
“Terna, do you remember that day that a fire broke out at the restaurant Viola had?”
“The day that mom left it to you for safekeeping while she took us to school on a rainy day?”
“Yes. So a few customers showed up early and…well, I challenged myself.”
“Oh…uh…but then how do you and everyone else…eat?”
“When Angelica isn’t around or doesn’t feel like cooking, it’s takeout at your mothers place every day.” Cecilia scratched her head, “I mean, at least Viola was kind enough to teach Angelica about cooking and a little bit of archery too so…I owe her.”
Terna chuckled, “It’s fine, no one can know or be the best at everything. Here, let’s start with the first verse.”
Her mind faded once again to the mellow humming of that same melody that Cecilia reminded herself of at her final moments. She didn’t look at that marina with melancholy, rather than happiness. Happiness to know that at that day, she was at least able to use her music to bring a smile to someone’s face for the first time. She wasn’t one to normally look back and reminisce memories of the sadness that they were no longer things she can experience. Rather, she was happy to experience them in the first place, something that would have made her sad if she missed the chance to experience them otherwise.
She kept moving on and on throughout the destroyed city. Minutes, hours, what did it matter? Were it her choice, she would be forever lost in those warm memories before she would forget those too. She finally reached the place she didn’t even know she was set out to go. An old, destroyed building eaten away by time. The gates of the building had rusted away and given in to the elements. The garden around the porches and small open area withered away and the building itself, a massive dome-like structure was partially destroyed, barely hanging onto its roof by a single thread with its last piece of strength. To her, it didn’t matter, because once again, her mind rushed to fill in the rotten image.
“So, you ready for the first impression? It’s gonna be extremely important you know.” Dante said.
“I-I…I think so. No singing! Right?” Terna scarily said.
“Nope, don’t worry about that part! I ran all the way around the city and promoted only your fantastic music, as per request. Man, I must’ve worked a week's calorie worth in a day. But we did it!” Anya happily said.
“Doubt you’ll fail this one, if practice really does make perfect, then you sure are perfect by now!” Angelico said.
“Hehe…thanks.” Terna thanked him.
“Yeah, unlike someone who tends to skip it all the time,” Dante looked at Angelico.
“Lil bro, I’m not the one who failed his test...thrice. Hell, weren’t you supposed to be doing the fourth one today?” Angelico looked at Dante.
“Both of you stop it right now! If you fight on Terna’s day, I’ll smack you both.” Angelica angrily said, taking a menacing look at them both.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Sorry!” Dante and Angelico simultaneously said in fear.
“She does have her…way, of calming them out,” Terna said.
“That’s why we love her!” Anya budged next to Angelica.
“In any case, might as well go forward, right? Today is your big day anyways.” Dante said.
“Hmm, right.” Terna nodded, “I hope I can remember it all.”, she scarily said.
“Alright, then let’s go!” Angelica cheered everyone forward.
She smiled upon remembering that one memory she engraved, not in her mind but in her heart. She moved forward again, entering the great theatre. The Aria Mista. The once beautiful wine-red hall with the ticket vendor withered away into a cold grey, and the once beautiful portraits of pure art on the walls burned and left to extinguish themselves in time's hands. She walked without at all noticing the difference, lost in an illusion carefully crafted by her mind’s memories and portrait through her eyes. She finally reached it…the main theatre room. The top floor's auditorium partially crashed down, destroying the seats below. The curtains on the stage, though partially burned managed to retain some form of color throughout time. The main stage, holding firm, retained the strength to support the performers on top, however, it had stopped retaining that reflective glow from the stage lights. She made her way up to the center of the stage, looking back at the auditorium.
Though empty, she could hear their laughs. The chuckles and yells of that day. She remembered it all too well. How she got up on the stage and began playing as she was taught and as her hands remembered. But not a single word escaped her lips. Not a single verse, all but hollow air coming from her lungs. And as her lips failed to come into sync with her dexterous fingers, her hands failed to progress the song further. A sudden burst of silence was held for a few quick moments, only to be remembered as an agonizing eternity. And as the silence continued, she heard from bellow, the words that broke her from above.
“Get going, did you forget already?!”
She did not know who the words were spoken by, but she did not care, because a moment after they filled the silence, a wave of laughter and chuckles came her way. They say that humans are mimetic creatures. They say that if someone speaks ever so convincingly, they will gain others to back them up, following the moment but not the person themselves. How could it be that she went with the flow, only to be dragged away by it? She paused yet again, this time in the present, as she slowly began backing up more and more as if she was facing a monster that gradually consumed her world, bit by bit. She crashed and fell behind the scenes, a few small tears escaping her eyes from her frightened face. She quickly got back up and stopped all of her rushing emotions, her eyes forcing her out of the horrific melody that was the ill-mannered laughter of onlookers that day. How come they did this to a mere child? Were they that inconsiderate? Was the world she viewed so beautiful just a façade that hid something much more sinister underneath? Or was it simply a twisted desire to be placed on the other end, lacking empathy for what was in front? Her mind raced a million questions as she forced herself to stop, blankly staring at the emptiness of both the stage and the auditorium as she got up from the wrecks that are in the backstage.
“I guess…even with talent something I can never do…” she whispered sadly.
She lifted her head up as the final piece of that day's memories came into her mind. As if her ears were playing tricks on her once again, she heard a mellow and soft melody play in her ears. However, this time, it was more than real. She traversed the backstage, looking at every corner of it, images she saw being replaced once again, with ones of the past. The final and most important moment to her from that day.
“So sweetie, are you ready for it?” Viola happily asked Terna.
“I-I…I dunno, Mom. It’s…its weird…”
“I thought you liked trying new things.” Gaz smiled at Terna.
“T-That’s not it…it’s…”
Viola softly punched Gaz on the shoulder, “Stop messing with her, go out and grab your seat already!”
Gaz chuckled, “Heh. Fine, I’ll give you guys a mother-daughter moment before the big stage, alright? I’ll be rooting for ya kid. Check out the seats where Cecilia and the kids are at. That’s where I’ll be.” Gaz hastily left for his seat.
“So, sweetie, like you practised. Nothing different, just do the exact same thing.”
“But…what if I mess it up…”
“You know, I’ve been saving something exactly for this day. I think it’ll help you relax a little bit. Here,”
From her side, Viola pulled out a peculiar-looking case, almost looking like a sword seethe, with a magnificent-looking handle protruding from it. When Terna received it in her hands, she started slowly taking it out. A flawless-looking, white flute was then placed onto her hands. The long white flute, partially decorated with gold bits all along its length shimmered in front of the backstage's dim light as its base with the handle ended in a glorious pair of wings, mimicking the guard of a sword, finished by two beautifully layered crystals at the tip of the wings. She gazed at the familiar-looking item before tracing her eyes back to Viola.
“M-Mom…this is…” Terna gazed in awe.
“Remember when I told you that when I found you on that beautiful flower field? I told you pretty much everything I knew because I didn’t want to lie to you. This was the thing I told you I found next to you but…I didn’t want to give it to you back then. It seemed…powerful. Too powerful…but as I realized more and more how strong you’ve become over these short years, I decided to give it back to you. It’s yours to begin with after all. I was just worried that it might’ve been too much for you to handle at the beginning.”
“Thank you…I know how to play the flute extremely well too, but…”
“I know, it’s a violin solo play. But check what I found when tinkering with it,” Viola tinkered with the flute.
As Viola touched the handle, a sharp string came out the other end, mimicking the bow of a violin. She gazed at the shiny silver surface of the “bow” and slowly placed it on the bridge of her violin. Nothing. Not a single strain of muscle was needed to be pulled for moving it around, almost as if she was holding on to a cloud. She tested it to see if it fit her liking and to her surprise, it far exceeded her expectations. Such a weird tool with such a unique outcome.
“I will take this with me.”, Terna firmly said.
Viola smiled at her, “Now go give them a show they’ll never forget. I’ll be right here, ok?” she pushed Terna forward softly.
As the young Terna moved towards the stage, exiting the backstage, she was briefly blinded by the light shining above her. She quickly regained her vision to be left awestruck by the sheer amount of people that were filling up the theatre that day. A logical amount for the space that the seats allowed and an infinite amount in her mind. She began to softly tremble before being shaken up by her maestro, signalling her from below. She softly placed her newfound bow onto the bridge again and widened her stance. The light, beautiful dress she chose to wear on that fateful day seemed to start and weight more and more, exceeding what she could carry. Her breath, once normal, now too became heavy, as if she was being choked by herself. The first baton swipe happened. So did the first swipe of her bow onto the strings of her violin. Off tune. Her face began to change from its frozen look to a soft red. The temperature in her body raised more and more like a furnace fully stacked with burning wood. She quickly tried to tune her strings back again, succeeding in doing so…the second baton swipe happened, that too followed by another swipe of her bow. Off tune. Was it really the mistake of her strings, or was it simply her? She began to crack again, her hands and body trembling as if an earthquake had occurred. The first chuckles were heard from underneath, as she gazed at her school classmates who had gathered in the usually reserved area. These words…
“Get going, did you forget already?!”
She still couldn’t point out the one who spoke them. Only hear the laughter after. She relaxed her stance as her eyes teared up, not daring to let a single one roll down her face. She gazed at the audience and was then again blinded by the stage lights, struggling to make a move. She heard a voice, again and again, calling to her.
“Sweetie, it’s ok, really!” Viola whispered loudly from behind.
Her step-mother's voice echoing within her mind, she broke out of her distressed state, now letting those frozen tears run down like waterfalls. She gazed at her friends on their side of the theatre, Gaz, Angelica, Angelico, Anya, Dante and Cecilia all signalling her that it was fine and to go on. She could not. The only sound she could make that one time was one echo through the theatre.
“No!!!”
As she squealed it out of her trembling lips, she turned around and began her running motion, only to step on that same light dress. Her violin, heavier than the bow was the first one to come into contact with the hard floor. Her entire body followed after it in a sick duet of agony and crashed right on top of it, breaking it to bits. Her two hands extended forward, trying futilely to soften the fall. She turned to her side while still down to gaze at the crowd once again, now with them looking in a worried tone at the crying child. Interesting, wasn’t it? How at the peak of the misfortune and scenario caused they would all stare in silence, but would all continue their laughs carelessly before the breaking point. She looked back down as she gazed at her broken violin. Her left hand still firmly holding on to that unique flute…her right hand, though she couldn’t feel it, bleeding profusely without any signs of stopping. As her blood formed a running river underneath the violin's broken bottom half, she looked around at the top half. Slashed by the broken bits of wood during her fall she finally realized what had happened. The thing she spend so much time mastering had twisted her faith all around, now hurting her most in what time should’ve been her best. She gazed at it with regret and the flute with disgust, almost as if she was ready to keep hurting and cracking them back as they did to her. She mixed her blood with tears as the dress now began to soak up the river of red running from her hand…she wasn’t a singer. She wasn’t a musician. She was exactly what she viewed her violin like, once having her dreams placed upon it. A broken mess.