Mackie

In the dimly lit auditorium, the audience was waiting eagerly for the mysterious pianist. The auditorium was so crowded that the organizer had to hire some extra bodyguards and take the help of the local police to keep everything in order. Mackie's fans were going crazy for her to show up. The spotlight fell on the stage and everybody could see the exclusive piano in the middle of the stage. Mackie's fans started to cheer in excitement.

Mackie saw and heard the screaming from behind the stage, she took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the stage with confident steps, wearing a red and black combination off-shoulder evening gown and a lacey matching mask on her face. Under the mask, she was wearing light and simple makeup but her red lips looked too tempting to the audience. Her brown hair was curled into big locks and fell into her back and it was styled and clipped by a silver hairpin to the side. Her look was mysterious and elegant. Even though half of her face was hidden but anyone could tell that behind that mask there was a beautiful face. The concert hall was in an uproar. Mackie bowed to the audience and sat on the Piano bench gracefully.

The first song she played was the famous canon but with an upgraded version. The melody was so beautiful that people quietly listened to it with closed eyes enjoying every second of it. Mackie's long fingers beat each note, like a dancing Mermaid, happily swimming on the lake. Each note touched the heart of the people deeply.

In the VIP seat upstairs a handsome man wearing a fitted black suit stared at the woman on the stage with pursed lips. He stared and listened to every note Mackie was playing carefully. The moment Mackie started playing on the stage his sharp eyes become gloomy and his face become hard as a rock. Oliver was very familiar with the style of this pianist. It took every bit of self-control for him not to run into the stage and tear off that musk from her face.

Everyone was immersed in Mackie's music when she finished the first piece and before the audience could recover from the spell of her music, she started to play another piece. Compared with the first hypnotic tender rhythm, the second piece she played was a happy one. It was the famous "honeybee flying". Every note was perfect yet different from the original. Mackie's slender fingers kept moving on the black-and-white keyboard, and her body swayed with the rhythm. This happy rhythm made people feel like they were in an open flower field where the bees were dancing around those flowers happily. It was enchanting. Each one of the audience was lost in the music, only Oliver sat there motionless, but his eyes never left the woman on the stage.

The third piece was the Blue Danube River. The moment Mackie started playing the piece, the spotlight dimmed and some blue lights lit up around her making the stage look dreamy. In the background screen, a video of the flowing Danube River was shown to match her music, it was a perfect setup for her 3rd piece making people feel the song in a more realistic way. As if they were listening it sitting by the river and it was spectacular.

Mackie kept playing until the end and all of a sudden she started a new tune without ending the previous one. This tune was her original, and it's called "Nian". The stage was still dark and the audience was still in their happy place but when the rush of the previous notes slipped from their mind, the tune Mackie was playing sounded very sad. It was a very emotional tune, people could feel the sadness, anger, frustration, and, helplessness in her music. Mackie started the tune on a low scale but her bit was a bit fast then played the tune on a higher scale but in a slower bit. It was a very complicated piece and in the end, she ended the prelude on a low scale. The lights on the stage slowly lit up and Mackie's performance ended.

Mackie stood up from the bench and picked up the microphone. She bowed her head toward the audience and said in her sweet voice, "Thank you everyone for coming to my concert today. I'm very grateful to you all for always supporting me. Now that I am back in the city I wish to do more concerts and see you, people, again. Thank you once again. Have a very good night, everyone." Mackie blew a kiss toward the audience and slowly stepped out off the stage.

The whole hall filled with thunderous applause and the audience started to scream with excitement. Realization hit them when Mickie said the words, 'back in the city' and there was an uproar. This was a confirmation that indeed Mackie is from China and she is back. Instantly she became the talk of the evening, everyone was whispering and talking about different possibilities why Mackie left Beijing and why she had to start her career in the US, and why she came back.

Especially the reporters, as this was Mackie's first performance in China, many entertainment reporters were present at the concert, and they all were in awe of her music. Everyone could understand why Mackie became internationally so renowned in such a short period of time. What they just witnessed at the stage today was beyond their expectation. On top of that Mackie just shared a huge information in front of everyone. This international musician is actually from China, this was huge!! So they were full of questions.

Mackie's sponsor never allowed anyone to take pictures or make videos at her concerts, therefore there were no videos online of her performance, and only the people who attended the concerts were able to enjoy her music. The audience was very happy after the performance, it felt like she has captured everyone's heart.

Even the young and ignorant Orion was also in awe of Mackie's music. He grabbed Oliver's hand and said in his baby voice, "Dad, I loved the music of this lady. Can you ask her to teach me please?" Orion just started his piano lessons this year but he was a fast learner. In a very short time, he has already captured the basics of piano, and seeing his progress Oliver appointed the best private tutor in the city for him.

Oliver touched his son's head and said with a spoiled face, "Sure." And looked back at the stage.

Obviously, the infatuation in Oliver's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Kiara. She could tell by the look that he was interested in Mackie which was making her a bit uncomfortable. Oliver who hasn't looked at a single woman for the past 3 years, why all of a sudden became so interested in Mackie.

Oliver looked at the stage one last and saw Mackie's leaving back. His mind was in a complicated state, the whole time he has been staring at the woman on the stage. Kiara never heard Ava playing, so she wouldn't know even if Ava played in front of her wearing a mask, but Oliver knew. The whole time Ava was pregnant he heard her playing again and again. Hell, he even composed music with her, how could he not recognize his Ava and her music? So she was finally back! There was a relief in Oliver's deep dark eyes.