Zach's Breakthrough

A short story about a young man who goes through an uplifting headway.

I ain't ever seen someone cry so hard over a song. But I guess that's how it goes. "We," as the straight people in the world, only like a musician or band when they hear something they like, full of love and passion for that one song and they'd sing it with their hearts open. But what about the crazy ones in the world, huh? The curvy, the twirly, the obscene, the conservative, with minds exploding with brilliant images? And the loyal. He's crying with tears, REAL TEARS, and the straights hear his song and live on with words of negation at the mention of his name. How ignorant. The sound is what they hear, only half of it. Well, there's words! And there's a story to discover, you see!

We're all sitting around in this ragged room of a studio. Jim and Zach on guitars and they're messing over my stutter. Austin's fussing to himself in his mind what's this next song gonna be. A chord here and there rings in my ear and just as I think it sounds good, Austin's face responds with a crooked twitch, "Maybe yes, but mostly no." So pick up, Zach, what you playing with there? Play that a little louder? And my god, it's the best damn thing these guys have made. It's a peaceful vibe, indie and growing with suffering. He's emerging out of the guitar; we all see it. He's becoming one with that melody, eating him like a drug, and he's feeling the buzz, adding a couple hums, calm and exotic.

Jim taps two finger in the air and Austin's got it, reaching over to press record. I peer at them and they've slowed down, hardly breathing, just watching, feeling, Zach's aura.

Zach's gone now, left us all behind to watch the making of a legend of a song. He's the strings beneath the illusion of his fingers, he's the vibrations bouncing off the walls, and he is showing us what it means to be real, to be lost in an emotion, to be deep in a trance.

God, is he eating us up. The words are drifting out of his soul, out of his chest, out of his mouth, past his lips, and we're in the experience! Zach's been through s**t and rougher s**t, and we knew it all, but we ain't ever felt it, you know? And there's rivulets dripping from his bags to his cheek and he rubs his face on his shoulder.

He eases off the guitar and his voice is slightly louder, "I'm finally feeling sane." His breath comes back, and he opens his eyes, out of his reverie. He smiles a bit, just in time to catch Austin pressing stop. Jim is the first to his feel, practically jumping on Zach, making him grin, and in a way praise the incredible song he just devised. More importantly, we see this in Zach's eyes, his personally accepting his strength and the bumps and vexation he's passed; and that's what this song is! He's passed it!

Coming to, before us, is a reborn Zach, a brighter and extravagant buddy, now in the realization of "I can do anything." The way a bump makes you feel, destroyed? Well, Zach knows that he ain't ever gonna feel that way again, and we're all holding to the belief that as long as we'll be in each others lives, well, maybe that'll go for us, too.

He's laughing now, flinging his head, tugging his hair this way and that, the way he fixes it, just vibing on his happiness; heightening all of us to just feeling good.