Them

She sat down at the piano, staring at it, wondering if she dared to attempt to play it again. The last time had been so long ago…

She decided that perhaps, it was time to overcome her fears, and hesitantly placed her fingers on the time-worn keys. She played a note, and then another and the music was heaven to her ears.  It had been too long since she had done this…

She then picked up her speed, and began playing the piano as she had played it long ago, in her childhood, familiar and comforting memories rising to her mind as she did.

They had all loved her playing. They would always sit down and watch her fingers dance over the aged keys. For nearly six years they had been content to let her play on her own.  But then…

Something had gone wrong, before, she remembered. And suddenly the memories weren’t warm anymore.

They were not satisfied by her playing any longer. It irked them. The tunes she played simply did not content them. From behind the dark veil, they would watch her and shake their head in disappointment. And then, they had taken matters into their own hands. They had swooped on her as she played for her sick brother, confined to his bed. They had changed her comforting lullabies, turning them into an infernal wail of the condemned. They had consumed her, as they had consumed her grandmother before her, and she had done wrong.

She missed her brother…

‘Murderer’, they had called her.

But, it seemed as though she was all right now. Nothing was happening as she played. The tune of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons flooded the dark attic room, and she was at peace. But then she saw them. They were still there.

 Watching her.  Vibes of resentment darkening their demeanour every moment.

And then-

A pure sound-

But then a pause-

And the resumption of music-

But not good -

Infernal tunes raged through the room, and her fingers moved without her consent.

She saw, through the window, the shade of her brother. Was he smiling? She couldn’t quite tell.

A little closer…

She went to the window and opened it, but she still wasn’t close enough. She leaned forward, and the music in her head became an overwhelming crescendo of despair.

Falling…lights everywhere…They were watching…

And then-

Darkness.