Piano in the Sky
I'm tired.
Empty.
Bored.
Ha...
It's like every single thing around me is gray.
The moon looks pale in the cloudy night sky--no single star in sight. Cars pass by the road beside me. Honking, tires screeching, engine purring. No one cares. People laugh and chatter and argue all around me, but I'm already used to their noise. After a long inhale from my cigarette, I stick it in a slice of cheap cake I bought from the cafe.
'Happy birthday, happy birthday. Happy birthday to me.'
I sing in my mind and then blow over the tip of the cigarette. Smoke curls and hangs in the air. I take the cigarette again and put it back into my mouth, tasting the icing. It's not bad. Trying to relax, I adjust my body in my seat. The outside tables of the cafe are empty except the one I'm at.
I exhale smoke again. Once I'm done with this one, I'll smoke one last for the night. Cigarette smoking is bad for your health, but my nerves have been stretched tight lately. I need to lower my stress levels. Smoking is good for my nerves. At least, that's what I think.
The mall I'm working at is closing. I need to find another place to work. But, how? How can I find one? The city has more people than jobs available. I was lucky to find work as a sales lady at the mall, but now... Now, what?
I light another cigarette and inhale.
Going back to the province is not an option. I need to find new employment here, somewhere. I can do it. I can very well find one soon. Then, my boring life will continue again. Wake up, eat, work, eat, smoke, work, eat, smoke, sleep. Repeat.
Ugh. Frustrating.
Don't get me wrong. Peace is fine. Peace is good, but sometimes, one wants to find something that will stir the soul. My life right now is nothing but repetition. I want something to spice it up. Bring color to my world. Like--
Rosamie.
The name makes me smile. Rosamie is the main character of a fantasy romance story I wrote in high school. She is everything I want to be: beautiful, kind, and strong. A princess loved by most people. When I wrote about her, I was full of dreams, aspirations, and ambition. Like I was ready to be the perfect princess in this real world. Like I was every inch ready to be just like her.
What a stupid dream.
I soon realized what an idiot I was. As soon as I graduated from college, I left my province to search for work in the city. But I never got a full-time job. And now, I am about to lose my current one.
Sighing, I exhale the smoke from my lungs. My second cigarette is almost finished. Should I smoke another one? I mentally shake my head and proceed to eat my cake.
Maybe I should start going out and meet someone? I mean, I'm already past 25. Some of my friends are already married. Some even have their own children. But can I raise my own kids properly? Or be a good wife? I'm not exactly mother material. Here I go again. Dreaming of color when I, myself, dye my life in gray.
Anyway, this cake is awesome. I take another bite.
"It's real!" I hear a teenage girl say as she walks out of the cake shop. I watch her group, see her pout. "Mindy got herself a boyfriend and Fred aced his exams. It is real!"
"Charmaine, you're not a little kid anymore. Stop believing in this magical voodoo nonsense," one of the girl's friends says with a chuckle.
"It's not voodoo. That's different. But the wishing well is magical."
Another speaks, "Charm, a wishing well that grants a wish can never be real. Magic isn't real."
Oh. A wishing well, huh? That kind of thing that takes coins from people? Why are people so stupid? Why willingly give away your coin for a wish you know will not come true? I snort, but continue listening to the teenagers.
Charmaine takes the hands of her friends. "Come with me. It's just a few blocks from here."
I finish the cake and stand up. For some reason unknown, I end up following the group. We reach the rumored wishing well. It looks creepy, actually. Not maintained at all. There are vines, moss, and marks all around it. Clearly out of place in the modern plaza.
The three teenage girls bicker some more and finally leave the place. I take a few steps toward the wishing well. Carefully, I try to look at how deep it is. It seems very, very deep. Scary. I shudder and turn my back on it. Enough of this nonsense.
My feet start to walk away.
Rosamie.
My body freezes. I remember her story once more. Just a few days ago, I found the manuscript of the story I wrote and read it again. It is poorly written, but I have no intention of editing it or rewriting it. It's just a fun read for me.
A wishing well. Rosamie. My ideal self. My ideal life.
I shrug my shoulders and walk back to the wishing well. I search for a coin in my pocket. When I find one, I close my eyes and whisper, "I wish to have a life like Rosamie. I want to be a princess in a castle. I want to have special abilities and be loved by many, especially Lance."
In the well, I throw the coin.
Plop. I hear it fall in the water.
I smile, almost laugh. How stupid.
But then, I hear someone's voice speak from the sky, "Okay."
W-what? Who...
I look up above me and see a piano falling directly at me. A freaking piano in the sky, ready to smash my very body!
What the fu--
Everything turns black.
