The Day I Felt Alive

11

Hailee

I woke up not knowing where I was for a second, then I remember I was at Arlene's house. Her bed smelled like her, her sweet vanilla scent. I actually smelled like her too, thinking about her, where was she? I looked for her in the room but she was not here. I checked my phone it was ten in the morning, the sun was shinning outside but the room was very dark.

After I had brushed my teeth and opened the curtains to the room, I opened the main door and there was a soft melody flowing through the house, I followed it to the back of the house towards the patio but it was through the glass doors, there was another room facing the pool and the city.

Arlene was sitting in front of a grand piano, the morning light was starting to shine through the room. She picked the perfect house, the sunset in the afternoon view with a beautiful melody would be romantic here. I slowly and silently walked up to her, she had her eyes closed lost in the moment, her skin was glowing, her eyes were bright with color and spark when she opened them and she turned my way.

I was mesmerized by the way she looked, she had a white lose shirt, sweat pans, her silver hair tied up in a pony tail. Her smile widen when she looked at me. "Did I wake you?"

"No, no." She made room for me to sit next to her, "your room is sound and light-proof. I thought it was the middle of the night."

"Yeah, great for sleeping in." She smiled at me, "I don't cook breakfast, but I have tons of cereal."

"May I?" I asked before I touched her keys. I played her a part of a melody I been working on, it was a couple of seconds long. "I been working on this and I can't seem to get pass this right here." I ended the last note.

Her soft expression looked at me for a second and she looked out the window towards the waking city. "Play it one more time."

I played it again, ending at the same tune, she motion for me to play it again, her eyes still closed. She motion again to play it two more times after that, then slowly she used her good hand to play some notes as I played mine. Slowly she added new notes every time there was a change in tune.

She stopped and told me to play it with the added keys, then the music just took over my fingers and I was able to finish the song. I played it one more time for my ears to remember the keys. I looked at her then, I was smiling like crazy, "I haven't been able to finish that in months!" I took her in my arms and hugged her tight, careful not to hurt her hand, "Thank you!" By accident I kissed her cheek and I was excited I played the tune over and over again. Arlene just stayed sitting next to me, swaying to the notes. 

I let go of the keys and let out a sight of relief, "you are amazing," I looked at her next to me, "do you play every day?"

"No, music is just a pass time. Drawing is my main thing, and work of course." She checked her phone, "which I'm waiting for a call from them," she sight, "I need to finish this project, it's basically a part of me, and I can't just sit here and not know what's going on at work." She looked up at me then, "I want your tv show to be perfect."

I took her good hand in mine, "it will, but I need you to be better, not rush you hand. You have to let it heal, you need your hand." I looked down at our hands, my body just seems to want to hold her, touch her, every chance I get I want to place my hands on her.

She let go of my hand and walked to the window looking out the patio, the pool was starting to shine from the midday sun. We had been in the music room for a while now. "I know, but its me. The me inside, me needs to be doing something, this is why I'm in here, even if I can't play I can still write some notes to distract me." She looked down at her hand, "but I am getting tired, my hand is hurting and I took some medication before you came down."

"Let's get you to bed, you need your sleep and rest. We both haven't slept well."

"Sorry about that, this is why I told you to go home. You need your rest."

"I slept really good last night, I can cook us lunch while you sleep, and I can make some phone calls to keep me up to speed with work. I did talk to Jane and everyone at work who works with you personally, they are happy I'm looking after you. But, they did say when I can't come, they can have a nurse come stay with you, if its ok with you I told them I would take care of you until you felt better."

She looked at me for a couple of minutes.

"I mean, I told them I would let them know. I can text them and tell them to find you a nurse, if that's what you want."

She just kept looking at me, I was starting to get nervous.

"Ok, no need to say it, I get it. You don't know me, I don't know you like that, Maybe you want a professional, or someone other than me. I get it. It's ok."

I looked up at her.

"Keep talking, its ok." She smiled at me, "nervous you, is cute. But, yes you are definitely not professional, drinking on the job and then falling asleep before I could. Didn't take care of me all night with your snoring."

"I don't snore."

"Right," I walked beside her, "I told you yesterday, why are you trying to build a relationship with me? This here will only last a couple of years, then we both move on to the next chapter in our lives. All I will have left are these nice memories that will hurt and end up sucking when I think about you, I do not want to get hurt."

"That's why you want an actual nurse? So you spend less time with me?"

"No, it's to prevent my heart from hurting."

That hurt, but it made sense, I let her walk to the room, I went to sit in the kitchen. That day was a slow day, I cooked for her, she ate but she went back to bed, her body was getting tired of being up. She spend most of her time asleep than awake.

I wanted to get on the phone and change my schedule for her, but she was right. I should spend less time with her.