The Exhaustion of Sienna
Sienna Watson presented a fiercely callous exterior to the world, yet deep beneath that unbothered surface, she was a profoundly sensitive girl. Her truest devotion belonged to the pipe organ—playing it every single day was her absolute greatest joy and solace. At school, however, Sienna belonged nowhere. She had no stable friends or peer groups, largely due to her icy, aloof demeanor, and her teachers simply viewed her as a quiet shadow who sat by herself in the corner of the crowded cafeteria. In truth, Sienna rarely had much of an appetite anyway; her mind was perpetually anchored to the thought of the music waiting for her at home.
At home, unfortunately, was an entirely different and suffocating story.
Sienna’s parents enforced a microscopic, unrelenting schedule that practically outlawed organ practice altogether. On top of that, she was burdened with far heavier homework assignments than any of her peers at school. To survive the crushing weight of her routine, Sienna had developed a secret ritual: she would quietly slip out of bed in the dead of night to practice her organ in a tiny, completely soundproofed room hidden away in the house.
To the outside world, Sienna was also recognized as a remarkably talented pianist—a skill drilled into her purely by parental force. In reality, she despised the piano; it stood as her least favorite instrument of all. Yet, her parents demanded relentless hours of practice, convinced that mastering it would elevate her above everyone else.
It never did.
Worn down by relentless studying and exhaustion-level practices, Sienna was perpetually scatterbrained during her daytime classes. Her academic marks suffered, and her classmates frequently seized the opportunity to tease her. Every single time it happened, a sharp, quiet grief pierced her chest.
"Alright, the square of 54 equals what? Sienna! You will answer!"
Sienna snapped out of her mental fog, blinking against the harsh classroom lights. Because she was a fundamentally honest girl, she refused to throw out a careless guess.
"I don't know..." she murmured, her voice flat.
"Alright, let's explain again. A square is..."
As the teacher droned on, Sienna’s mind drifted right back into a hazy fog, replaying the painful, heavy piano notes she had been forced to suffer through the night before.
"Still dreaming, Watson?" Leo, the class loudmouth, muttered loudly enough for those nearby to hear, casting an apathetic, mocking look her way.
Sienna tried her absolute best to ignore him, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead, while a few students in the back rows giggled behind their hands. Sienna’s heart truly fractured at the sound. She felt the heavy, crushing weight of knowing her classmates never treated her with an ounce of seriousness.
When the final school bell finally rang, Sienna walked slowly down her usual path home, lost in thought. Near the corner of the street, a weathered public notice caught her eye:
MUSIC FESTIVAL
Date: 5 October 2026, 10:00 AM
Location: XXXX Road
If you see this poster, please join our annual music festival! Free food provided. The best performer gets a grand prize of 1000 dollars! Children are warmly welcome. If you would like to be a performer, please sign your name below.
Available instruments: Piano, Organ, Violin, Cello, Drum, Flute, Bass
Sign here: ____________________
Sienna hesitated, her pen hovering over the paper for a long, agonizing moment. Then, with a sudden surge of raw determination, she scribbled her name at the bottom. She didn't dare think about the consequences yet, but a faint, fierce spark of hope ignited in her chest.
She walked the rest of the way home with a tiny, secretive smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Later that evening, once her grueling homework was finally finished, she slipped into her sanctuary and practiced the organ until sweat beaded on her forehead. She began piecing together a magnificent original arrangement, committing every chord to memory with breathtaking speed. She lost track of hours in the sweet release of the music, until the heavy wooden door was suddenly thrown open—her parents had found her in the tiny, sound-blocking room.
"Sienna!"
Her parents' angry shouts pierced through the heavy air. Disappointment and fury flashed in their eyes as they immediately took away her beloved organ, locking it away out of reach. On top of that, they demanded that she spend the rest of the night doing endless chores as a harsh punishment for defying her strict daily schedule.
Sienna stood alone in the chillingly silent room, biting her lower lip hard enough to taste copper, swallowing her tears and quietly vowing that she wouldn't let them win.
