Play for Me

Fingers glided across the piano. Each combination of notes making a beautiful sound. The sounds were so sweet and melodic as if a thousand angels sat down to sing and play along with their creator.

There was more to it.

Much more.

I could feel the emotion. It was a mix.

Sadness, Happiness, Anger, Loneliness.

All feelings swirling around me and I felt them all. But there was something else. Something I couldn't quite pinpoint.

A certain emotion I couldn't find.

A complete mystery.

Something that makes the piece so beautiful.

The song ended with a soft smile from my lips as I closed my eyes. The man let the final note linger before getting up and bowing to the audience.

That emotion...

I still have yet to experience it.

The carriage shook as it took me to my new home. I stared outside the window, slightly annoyed. The driver kept looking over at me in his mirror with concern. I wasn't very pleased with this whole ordeal. "I'm sure we'll arrive here quickly." My father said from across from me. He had a stern look as always. He was seated in front next to the driver while my mother sat next to me and my 2 twin older brothers. We were heading to our new estate. My family would be living here for the next couple of months or maybe even years. We arrived at the estate which was quite large.

There were two grand staircases leading up to a house on top. The grounds looked pretty much like a park and there were flower gardens surrounding the manor. A few smaller ponds were near another entrance to the estate. It was grand. Too grand. I sighed as I got out of the carriage. "Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Blanche," said the driver. I turned around to wave goodbye before following my father into the building. My mother walked alongside him to get some sort of instructions. I was trailing behind. We entered the main part of the manor.

Just as I thought: Everything was grand and big. Behind the mansion though, was a huge forest. Lush and tall trees right behind it. Interesting.

My father talked to owner. After a moment he walked back towards me. "Carol, your new maid should be arriving soon." I nodded. My father sighed. "You will learn to get used to things. This house belonged to your grandfather and now belongs to you. And if you're lucky he has left you something to help you adjust to all of this, but I doubt it. A couple of maids toured us around the mansion. They told us about all of the rooms and how everything works. I nodded once again. I didn't want any trouble, especially not with my father. He patted me on the shoulder. "Go ahead and explore, I have work to do. The new maid will show you where everything is, don't let anyone bother you. Now go on." "Yes sir." I said quietly before walking away. I walked through hallways that led to the various bedrooms and bathrooms.

At one point, I came across a woman. She seemed to be in her 20s. "Hello, my name is Mary and I'll be your new maid." She smiled brightly. It lightened my mood. Maybe, moving wasn't going to be so bad after all. I returned her smile. "I'm Caroline, nice to meet you." I said, shaking her hand. "Oh! I'm assuming you might need to know where your new room is located." Mary said. "Ah, that would be nice." I said sheepishly. I followed Mary down the hallways to a different hallway. We climbed up a flight of stairs to the third floor and went through another hallway. We stopped at the end of a corridor with a door that had the number 24. "This is the one." She said looking back and smiling at me. I opened the door. It was beautiful. But too grand. I didn't mind it though. The bedroom had a small balcony facing the gardens below. There were many windows, but none directly facing out towards the garden. The bed was placed at the center next to a nightstand. The room was painted in a pastel yellow with a couple of butterflies painted on. It was pretty.

Mary smiled at me. "Well, I'll leave you to settle in." I nodded and closed the door. I sighed as I began to place my bags down and slowly unpack my clothes. At that moment, Mary barged in the door. "I'm so sorry! I completely forgot! You can leave your unpacking to me!" She said hurriedly rushing to my side. "No, No! It's fine! You don't have to worry about anything. I prefer to unpack alone anyways." I said reassuringly. "Very well then." With that she left and closed the door. I continued unpacking everything else. Clothes, accessories, hair products, daily materials. I placed everything where it needed to be. After a while I flopped in the bed in exhaustion. I turned my head to the window. It was dark, the stars began to appear. Evening.

Mary slowly opened the door. "Miss Caroline, your father is calling you to dinner." I nodded as I got up and walked down the stairs with Mary. Once inside the dining room, my father and mother were already sitting down. I stood by the door and waited for her signal to enter. She finally did and sat next to her husband. "We are proud of you." My father smiled at me. "Thank you." "And I am very grateful for the opportunity to live in such a lavish estate." My mother added. "I am glad you agree that we have done the best for you." My father smiled at me. I just looked down and nodded again. "Where is Phillip and Jasper?" My mother questioned me. I shrugged. We then heard 2 voices bickering. Ah, there they are. My two siblings walked into the dining room. They both seemed to be arguing about something. Jasper glared at Phillip as if wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face. Phillip simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. "Phillip..." My father warned. "What? It's not my fault!" Phillip complained. My father glared at Jasper. "He's the one that started the situation." Jasper said defensively.

They never seemed to stop arguing. Soon, the maids brought in the food and we began to eat. Before father could even take the first bite one of the butlers ran in. "Mr. and Mrs. Blanche." Father placed down his fork and turned his attention towards the butler. "Please pardon my interruption but, one of the other butlers you have hired, he died in an accident." My mother gasped as my brothers greedily continued gobbling their meal. Father, without changing his expression replied, "We'll hold a funeral tomorrow." At last he took a bite of the steak and continued his dinner. We then finished eating and my parents retired to their respective rooms. I was once again let to my room by Mary. I walked to my bed and sat down. Looking at the painting of my grandfather and grandmother. I walked to my walk-in closet filled with the clothes I had put a few hours before.

I shifted through the clothes looking for a black dress to wear tomorrow. Found it. A simple black silk dress. I grabbed it and put it on. I went to the end of the closet where a mirror was placed on the wall. I looked at myself in the dress. Decent enough. Before I could change out of it. I heard birds chirping. Really loud chirping. Coming from the mirror. There was a slight crack at the edge of the frame of the mirror. I put my finger near the frame and realized I could open the mirror. Perhaps this was a doorway to some place. I opened the mirror and saw the forest. I stepped through and landed on the grass. My feet sunk into the soft grass. The sky was dark and full of stars. It was peaceful with only the chirping of birds breaking the sweet silence. I trudged deeper into the forest. I got to a clearing where I saw a strange object placed in the middle of it. As I walked closer, I noticed it was piano. It was a grand piano and it seemed to be in good condition. I reached for the keys hesitantly. What was I supposed to play?

As soon as I touched the keys. I knew what to do. What notes, what chords, what music to produce out of this lonely piano. I felt my hands move across the keys. Music flowed from my lips as I played a song that I hadn't played for a long time. The one Grandfather played for me and taught me. Once I finished, I noticed a bird had landed on the piano. It chirped happily, as if it liked listening to me play. I chuckled softly. The bird flew off when the melody ended. I stared blankly at the empty spot where the bird had been standing before. I felt warm tears running down my cheeks. I hadn't cried in quite a long time.

Oh! I have to get back. Mary must be knocking at my door to see if I'm in bed. If father figures out I went out without his permission. I knocked that thought out of my head and began running back. I got to the "door" and opened it carefully. I stepped inside back into my closet. I changed out of my black dress and looked back at the mirror. They can't know about this. I covered the mirror with my clothes and slowly got out of the closet. Just as I thought knocking. I quickly got into bed and acted like I was sleeping. Just then, Mary opened the door. "Oh thank goodness. I was worried you weren't answering after I knocked a couple of times." She left. I thought about the mirror, the piano, the peace I felt. It felt freeing. I had never once rebelled against my father but going out without his permission felt nice. I fell asleep feeling happier than usual.