-Midnight Melodies- || Aphmau AU

- Chapter 11: Song From the Past -

It was still late at night. Zane could hear his older brother faintly snoring, the walls dampening the loud noise. He ignored it, however. All he could think about was Aaron, and that robotic voice.

"Zane, please save him."

It echoed through his mind. How could he save Aaron? The obvious answer was a song, but when had his songs ever saved anyone? They seemed to only bring sorrow. He thought about a painful memory, one he'd never be able to forget.

Flashback to middle school:

Zane sat on his mom, Zianna's, bed, watching her. His mother sat in front of the computer, doing work. His mother was a music composer.

"Mommy, how do you make songs?" he asked, curious.

His mother laughed, and waved him over. Zane jumped off the bed and ran to his mother, watching the screen. She quickly showed him how everything worked, and Zane was in awe. Could you really make a song using just a computer?

"M-Mommy, can I try writing a song?" he nervously requested. He'd never done anything musical before, except for piano lessons for a few years.

"Of course, my little Zuzu! I'd love to listen to what you write." she said gently as she got up and let him try it out. She left to go make dinner, and Zane excitedly got to work. One week later, he had finished writing a song. His mother listened to it in awe.

"Z-Zane, did you really write this?" she asked, shocked.

"Of course! Who else would?" he said proudly.

She paused the song and smiled.

"You know, my boss commissioned me to write a song for an advertisement. However, I think this song would work very well. Do you mind if I send it to them?"

Zane looked at her in shock. "Wh-What?! I've never written a song before, there's no way they'd like it!"

She pushed his hair behind his ear and playfully smirked. "Cmon, if you do this, you could tell Garroth and he'll be totally jealous!"

He considered that. It would be nice if Garroth were jealous of him. Just thinking about how mad he'd get made Zane giggle.

"Hm, alright, you can use it!" he said while nodding.

Zianna clapped her hands in joy before getting up to leave and make dinner. Zane looked at the computer. He wanted to compose more and more!

A few days later, his mother eagerly ran up to him.

"Zane! Zane! Guess what?" she said excitedly.

"Wh-What?!" he said, confused.

"My boss loved your song! He said it was something new and fresh, and that it was like nothing he'd ever heard before. He'd love to use it!"

"R-Really?! He's gonna use my song?!"

Zianna hugged Zane tightly and they both laughed in joy.

However, things only got worse from here. Zane had worked on a few more songs, but his mother had gotten busier and busier. He walked into her room one day, but saw she looked stressed out.

"M-Mommy? Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Zianna sighed and gave a weak smile. "S-Sorry, Zuzu! It's just, every song I wrote, my boss doesn't like it...Do you think I could have some alone time, to work on it?"

Zane nodded and left the room.

Every day, he'd go to check up on his mother, but she was always there, working on her song. He didn't bother her, but he noticed her condition worsening. He hadn't see her eat or drink anything in days, and she had gotten much skinnier. She looked as if she hasn't slept in days either.

One morning, he decided he'd surprise his mom with breakfast. He worked tirelessly making her pancakes with strawberries, her favorite, and went to go bring them to her room.

"Mommy, I made you something!" Zane said as he walked into the room. However, when he saw what had happened, he screamed.

His mother was collapsed on the floor, many papers and books knocked off the table. Zane quickly rushed to his mother's side to check on her. She was breathing, but slowly, and she was cold.

Zane's father, Garte, walked in, hearing the scream.

"Zane, what's so- Z-Zianna?!" he exclaimed as he saw his wife on the floor.

Zane was panicking and crying, wondering what was wrong with her. His father quickly called the hospital as his brothers, Garroth and Vylad, rushed into the room as well.

The family rushed to the hospital, and the doctors quickly took Zianna to the ER. They explained that it seemed she had overworked herself to exhaustion, and passed out. However, combined with not eating or drinking, she had put herself into a coma. They were unsure if or when she'd wake up from it. The Ro'meave family was left in shock. Just like that, a loving mother and gentle wife had been taken away.

The next day, Zane was back in his parents' room. Without his mother, it seemed empty, not like the happy place it had been before. He began to look around her desk, wondering why she had gotten so much work, when he found a small notebook. He looked inside and found multiple diary entries.

May 23rd:

The song Zane wrote was beautiful, he has so much potential. I've decided to send it into the boss. I hope he enjoys it as much as I did!

May 27th:

Everyone at work loved it! It was a big hit, and they've added it to the commercial! I'm so happy for Zane, he'll go far if he continues to pursue this career.

May 30th:

I've written multiple songs in such little time, but they've all been turned down. I've been told I'm too old-fashioned, that my songs should be more like the ones Zane has written. Nonetheless, I'll keep working hard until I've written the perfect song!

July 3rd:

I don't know what to do. I haven't eaten, drank, or slept in days. All I can focus on is this song. I've listened to Zane's songs for hours on end, attempting to replicate them, but each one gets turned down. What does Zane have that I don't? What am I going to do?

After July 3rd, the entries end. Zane knew what happened. Two days after July 3rd, his mother had been sent to the hospital. Reading the diary, Zane understood the situation. What happened to his mother was his fault. Because of the songs he had written, he had only caused his mother pain. He angrily chucked the diary against the wall, and began to knock everything off the table. He sobbed as he sank to the floor, surrounded by the books and papers he had thrown to the ground. What was wrong with him? How could he do that to his own mother? Had he always felt so... empty? There was only one thing Zane could think in the moment.

"Disappear..." He thought. "All I want is to... disappear."