Creative piece by Placidia Chu
His hands gracefully pressed against different keys as he played another bittersweet piece composed by Fritz Kreisler. The melodic notes bounced swiftly across the room, echoing in every hallway of the building. She was gone. His lover was gone. Their love was yearning desperately for a reunion, to set itself free from the depths of sorrow. He felt like he was drowning in the anguish and pain that those memories brought to his mind – those things that had always had been dear to him: her reassuring smile and the warmth of her cordial embrace. Everything seemed so real. In the beginning, it was she who modified him to be a better and more capable person and helped him to hear the wonderful melodies. The sound of the notes started to fade in his ear, silencing those melodic notes. She was everything to him; she brought colours into his melancholic world; she managed to open the lock of a vulnerable heart; without her, there would be a lacuna in his life. She would forever be the light glowing in the midst of his darkness. Her smile to him was like sunshine after a rain; it brightened up his day.
The girl picked up her violin one last time and completed their last duet as she faded into a million pieces of blossom. As she caressed her lover‘s cheek, a single tear rolled down both their cheeks. She smiled as they bid their last farewell.
He woke up once again, heart pounding. He found himself waking up on the keyboard. He looked out of the window. The winter leaves were falling everywhere, a glimpse of sunlight showered on the branches of the once decayed tree, then deliberately spread across the land. A breeze blew through the grass, gently embracing them with endearment. Spring was coming. A spring without her was coming. He stumbled out of his apartment with a spontaneous gait. Feeling chilly yet warm under the sunlight, he strolled down the streets where the lovers had met years ago, both parting ways after school where she would consistently wave back at him after she walked past the railroad. The sudden wind of the train approaching dragged him out of his thoughts, and as he looked back towards the other side of the road, she wasn’t there waving at him anymore.
Wandering along the road he was able to scrutinise the view before him; cherry blossoms had begun to bloom with a hint of burgundy growing on the edge of the flower bud. It had been a long while since he had seen such stunning scenery. It felt like he had been closeting himself out of the world, drowning in those blissful yet ruthful rhythms printed on the music. He closed his eyes, feeling the light breeze wrapping him in her arms. He stopped on the seashore as the colours of dusk seeped into the sky, decorating it in a hue of reddish-purple. The cool wind blew over the sea, and he felt dingles of salt being blown in his direction. He closed his eyes, imagining how she was by his side as if she managed to escape from the grasp of death, appreciating the nostalgic phenomenon with him again. They would walk side by side, hearing each other’s laughter. He stood in front of her grave, dressed in formal black while holding an umbrella. Rows of tombstones lay peacefully in the sea of dead silence. Drops of water slid down from the tip of a leaf, soaking the Chrysanthemum, which had fallen into pieces. It was raining. She had gone to a better place, gathering stardust blissfully without any pain or burdens. A seep of sunlight brightened up the dull grave. He looked up and squinted his eyes as the sky started to glow a brilliant blue. He smiled tenderly as he bid his lover goodbye before turning away and walking out of the cemetery.