The Sound of Sanity

Ashen-faced, a man was taken aback by the image in the mirror when he turned on the fluorescent lamp in the bathroom.

"Who are you?" He asked, sweat flowing down his forehead while looking closer towards the mirror.

The image did not respond. Suddenly, babel of voices pierced sharply his ears forcing him to cover them with both of his hands.

He then sank in total dilemma. He raised his right hand and so did the man in the mirror.

Desperately waiting for an answer, he asked again loudly, "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?!"

But the man, whose eyes were painted with blood-like stains, only stared at him blankly.

He laughed demonically which was even louder than the voluminous sound of the radio overheard in the bathroom. He then looked at his hands, examining closely every finger as if he never had seen them for a very long time. He was silenced when he heard his name over the radio.

"Randy Wolfe, who was once cited as the best pianist in the world due to his remarkable, complex compositions, his great contributions to the then dying music industry, his multi-million sold albums, his sold-out concerts and the rest was his self-made history, is still not found by anybody after his appearance in the last leg of his world tour in Manila a month ago. People close to him do not even know his whereabouts after he walked out of the center stage amid his performance of his most popular composition, I Remember When.

Before the controversial walkout, there have been rumors that the front act in Wolfe's entire world tour, John Martin, 20, will be the next big pianist in the world; that Wolfe will be overshadowed by Martin in the shortest time.

In every performance of Martin, the crowd goes wild every time he inserts piano exhibitions, before he ends his piece. Paparazzi caught shots of Wolfe smirking and pissed off which are now spreading in the internet.

However, in interviews, Wolfe denied the rumors.

But it seemed that in his last performance in Manila, he lost his total self-control. People reacted badly and started booing him from the beginning of his performance when he said something that ignited the crowd's fury.

"I am the best pianist in the world. No one can ever dethrone me, not even this filthy, pathetic John Martin right here with me."

The crowd near the stage was wrecking havoc; throwing bottles and shoes at him. When he couldn't take everything anymore, he slammed his hands hard in the piano keys and left the center stage while pointing dirty finger to the furious crowd.

It was then the last time everybody had a glimpse of Wolfe.

Up until now, no one sees him, not even his shadow. Is this the start of the end of his career? Maybe, yes."

Wolfe was speechless for a moment after hearing the news over the radio. He looked again at his hands, then at the ceiling where the light was flickering undauntedly. And he closed his eyes, envisaging he was still playing his grand piano, banging his head, swaying his body to the rhythm of his music.

He erupted, and he screamed as loud as he could when babble of sound reverberated again in his ears. When he opened his eyes, he saw again the man in the mirror- face covered with overgrown beard and mustache, swollen eye bags, blood-like stained eyes and messy, long hair.

"Who the effin hell are you?" He asked again.

But the man in the mirror only imitated him again which forced him to panic. He shattered the mirror by punching it repeatedly with his both hands and laughed.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! You cannot dethrone me! I am the only and the best pianist in the world! I am! And I will only be!"

While blood was dripping from his both hands from the cuts of shattered mirror, the radio commentator talked again.

"Here comes a sizzling story from one of our field reporters.

John Martin, the controversial person behind Randy Wolfe's sudden disappearance, is releasing his first album today. Due to people's demand, his first single is Wolfe's iconic composition, I Remember When.

And we are very lucky to have the copy of his album right away.

So now, listen and be moved by this musical genius' excellent and incomparable piano performance of I Remember When."

"No!!!" Wolfe bellowed until his voice was about to leave his vocal chords.

He then ran hastily towards the radio, lifted it and threw it forcefully against the wall. He kicked the radio until it was broken into pieces. Gasping for air, he slumped into the corner of the room, looked again at his bruised, wounded, bloody hands and slapped them in his face.

"I am the only and the best pianist in the world! I am! And I will only be!" He sobbed repeatedly while laughing with extreme self-pity.

He stood up after a minute or so. He walked towards the balcony of his suite in the tenth floor of the condominium.

He then climbed the railings of the balcony and stood up straightly in the platform. He spread his arms like an eagle ready to catch its prey.

He screamed again, "I am the only and the best pianist in the world! I am! And I will only be!"

He looked up at the dark, weary sky; positioned his hands as if to play the piano. He then began pressing his fingers into nothing but the cold air, and he banged his head and swayed his upper torso like he was usually doing before. He heard the furious people screaming his name; throwing bottles and shoes at him. And lights out.