The Grand Piano

I woke up with a yawn. Nothing covered me, so I rolled around to make room for pulling a blanket over me.

Then it hit me. The death. The smell. The blood. But I was in my bed... It must have all been a bad dream.

No.

No dreams were that realistic. I sat up and remembered I wasn't in my room. I was in Eon's room. In his bed. I sat up and threw the blanket off me. It was nearly nine o'clock. I'd missed breakfast!

In a hurry, I made my way to my room. It hardly smelled now. I cleaned myself up, pulled on a dress, and slipped on my shoes. I'd almost left the room when I realized the necklace still sat on the nightstand. I grabbed it and put it on while making my way downstairs.

Eon was likely not in the dinning room, so I walked to his study. He was writing on some documents with elegant hand movements.

"I hoped you would wake up," Eon said without looking up.

"I'm sorry. I slept far too long," I apologized.

"Don't worry. It's been a busy morning." Eon slowed his writing and looked sad. "You can grab a fruit from the kitchen for breakfast."

I didn't want to disturb Eon any more. He wasn't in the best mood. Maybe it was a good thing I'd overslept.

The kitchen didn't smell off much. Most of the cooks were just organizing dishes or looking at different foods and spices.

"Excuse me," I began, "where do you keep the fruits?"

One of the cooks pointed me in the direction of a door. The door lead to a pantry with boxes of fruit. I looked for a box of peaches.

They looked large and ripe. I grabbed a peach and took a bite. A bit of juice dripped down to my chin. I wiped it away and walked out of the kitchen.

I didn't want to go anywhere but my room. The death of the man with the scar still worried me. Eon didn't tell me who killed him. Why?

Just as I took another bite of my peach, I noticed something in a room that I hadn't before. It was a grand piano.

Auntie and Uncle had a piano. It definitely wasn't as nice as this one. Auntie and Uncle let me play it whenever they left to go shopping or spend time alone. I'd gotten pretty good at playing it, but Auntie and Uncle never asked me too. They just assumed I messed around with some of the keys.

I felt calm playing the piano. It came naturally to me, like breathing. I'd memorized multiple songs and could play with my eyes closed. Just a week ago I started learning a new song.

I was drawn to the piano. It was so shiny and large. I walked into room. The piano sat in the very center along with a large stool. The peach was only halfway eaten, so I sat it on a small table by the door.

The keys were cold. A rush swept over me as my fingers glazed the piano keys. I played a single chord. It echoed through the room. I played another. And another. And another.

After playing a few chords, I moved on to playing a song. I did so slowly at first, but picked up speed as my confidence grew.

Back at Auntie and Uncle's house, the piano didn't have nearly as many keys. Some of them didn't even work. That was bothersome when it came to playing some songs.

I played an elegant but cheery tune. This was a tune I'd played so many times before. It brought me so much joy. Much like the song about the willow. I'd often thought of creating lyrics to match the song, but I would've needed to constantly use the piano. Auntie and Uncle only went out once a week, so my time on the piano was very limited.

Once I finished, I walked to the door to grab the half eaten peach. Hopefully Eon wouldn't be upset if touched the piano. I'd done it without thinking.

I picked up the peach and took a bite. Maybe Eon had a compost bin outside. I exited the door and found Eon leaning against the wall. He had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Maybe I should have closed the door all the way.

"No one has touched that piano since my father died. Not even Mason. He believed that playing it after my father died would be too painful and disrespectful."

I lowered my gaze and started to speak.

"No one has played so beautifully, either," Eon cut me off. "Besides, Mason has always been overly sensitive."

"Thank you," I said, grateful Eon wasn't mad.

"You can use it whenever you like, just make make sure I'm awake."

"Of course. I appreciate that."

Eon began to walk away.

"Wait," I said, "do you have any paper I could use? Paper that is made for writing down notes?"

"Sure. There's some in the desk in my room. Take as much as you like."

"Thank you. Also, do you have any place to put this?" I held up the peach.

"Oh, just bring it to the back of the manor. There's a compost bin back there."

Eon walked down the hall and into his study. I finished the peach and walked to the back of the manor. If Eon was allowing me to play the piano whenever I wanted, then I could finally create a piano part for the willow tree lyrics.

Behind the manor were two bins. They were full of dirt and food scraps. I tossed in the rest of the peach and hurried to Eon's room. Writing a song would help pass time. After all, I'm not leaving anytime soon.

When I thought about it, Diablo Manor wasn't really like home. I had more freedom. Freedom was all I ever wanted.