Chapter 1

Chapter 1

               The music flowed through her body, her slender fingers dancing on the white and black keys of her grand piano.  The girl’s body swayed with every push of the sustain pedal, making her silky brunette curls bounce and her satiny smooth skin flush with warmth.  Her dress was elegant and sparkly, with similarly dressed people standing around her.  The girl’s father, his arm through her mother’s, winked at her.

               Malaise was jerked out of her dream by rough hands pulling her up by her shirt.  “Get outta here before I call the cops,” An older man, probably in his early forties, hissed at her He let go and she stumbled backwards, turning and running out of the alley she had been sleeping in.  The truth was Malaise had no home.  No money, no father, and no mother - no one.  She had been taught to play the piano beautifully, though, before her parents died.  She had been sleeping in this alley for days with nothing to eat.  She had frizzy brunette curls, and her clothes were too small and badly soiled.  But if you looked into her glowing hazel eyes, you would see that she wasn’t giving up.  Heck, she was just sixteen!  How could she give up when she didn’t even know what her future was going to hold?  But she knew one thing �" she was going to have a hard life.

 

*          *          *

 

               Malaise got her break.  She was watching an old man play chopsticks on a keyboard in the middle of a crowd, but no one paused to toss money in the hat that he had laid out.

               “Excuse me, sir.”  Malaise said politely.  “May I play for money?”

               “Huh,” He said, squinting down at her.  “Like they’ll give you money, but you can try if you want.”

               “Thank you, sir,” Malaise said sweetly.

               “Huh,” the old man said again.  Then Malaise was moving toward the piano...  And it was like they had never been apart.  She had not grown rusty in the years she had not played the piano.  It was like she was in her shabby little house with its patched roof again.  But she had had a beautiful baby grand that her mother had worked hard for.

               Now, she played Fur Elise on a dirty keyboard, but still a beautiful sound came out of it.  So beautiful that people stopped and stared �" and tossed money into the hat that the old man had lain out.  The tune was not hurried; Malaise played with a natural skill that few people had.

               When she finished the song, the old man was gaping at her, and she realized that he was missing quite a few teeth.

               “Can you sing?”  He asked her finally.

               Malaise shrugged. “I haven’t sung in years,” she said simply.

               “Well, try.”  The old man said.  So Malaise sang a song while she played the piano.  A beautiful, high-pitched, haunting melody slithered from her mouth.  Accompanied with the piano, it sounded like a whole choir.  Malaise was racing.

Reviews

[Sasha]

That was so well described. I could totally see the girl playing Fur Elise in my mind. LOL Well done!

[Taylor H.]

I found NO errors :) I really liked how you started this.

[AK]

Wow! Amazing story! I really liked how you started it. Though I've already read it before, I see that you have edited it a tad bit. Keep writing!

[etxcp]

This is really good... no joke! Very insprational! And I like that name... "Malaise" very pretty!