The Moth and The Flame

Chapter 2: An Unusual Friend

Jason sat on the piano bench. It groaned under his slight frame, showing its obvious age. He looked around the empty room, its once red-brown stained walls now greyed and worn. When his glance returned to the piano, he noticed dust disturbed on some of the keys, as though the piano had recently been used to create a serenade.

"This is so odd," he thought.

The moth's darting shadow had disappeared. Jason looked for the delicate creature, seemingly the only other life around. He spotted it on the wall, as still as the air in the room. The only light was that of the candle, still flickering.

"I guess you're alone too, huh?" he asked the moth, chuckling. "Looks like I'm talking to a moth now..." The moth sat motionless. It was almost as though it was listening to Jason.

"That makes two of us. Except you don't have the same feelings that I do," he sighed. "You don't even know that you're alone. You're just a moth."

He felt a tear begin to form. "It's not fair. It seems like every person I care about leaves me. My best friend moved away, my only real friend. Grandma... My parents are too busy with their jobs and parties and arguments. It feels like I'm a shadow to them. I'm surprised Mom even cared enough to make sure I made it to school this morning. It's like she does it as a power trip. I haven't even seen Dad in three days." The tear rolled down his cheek, followed by another. "Hell. I don't know why I don't just do them a favor. Seems like no one cares enough about Jason Martin to miss me. So why do I continue to put up with the bullshit?"

He wiped his eyes. "Bro, I'm crying to a moth. Man, I've really lost it."

The moth jumped off the wall and flew onto the piano, landing close enough for Jason to touch it if he tried. Jason smiled slightly. "Why do I get the strange feeling you know what I'm saying? Nah, that's impossible. I'm just using desperation to hope. Is that insanity?"

He pulled out his phone. "Oh, shit. It's 5:30. I'd better get home. Bye, moth. I'll come back tomorrow, if I'm not grounded. You'll probably be gone, but something about this place... it's eerie yet comforting. Like I'm supposed to be here..." He blew out the candle before leaving.

Jason scrambled home. He walked through the door, expecting to be berated. Instead, he noticed a note on the table and read it aloud. "Jason, your father and I have to attend a last-minute event for his boss. There should be leftovers from this weekend. Don't stay up late. -Mom."

He made himself some dinner before retiring for the night. He laid in bed, trying to sleep. But he couldn't shake the feeling that old church gave him. And that moth...

"Why did it act like it knew what I was saying?"

Before he knew it, his alarm was going off. The school day was easy enough. He breezed through his exams, with no distractions from Trip. The last bell rung, and he rushed to the church. He cautiously opened the doors, making sure not to startle any unexpected guests. To his delight, no one seemed to be present.

"I wonder whose handprint that was, and the candlelight..."

He was careful going up the old stairs. He got to the top and noticed, yet again, a candle appeared to be lit in the room at the end of the hall. He furrowed his brow. "Who is lighting this damn candle? Does someone live here and I'm just missing them?"

He looked into the room and saw nothing. He searched for the moth but couldn't spot it. He sighed, slightly saddened. "Well, I guess it didn't stick around. What's new?"

He sat at the piano and pressed a key. Surprisingly, it rang, perfectly in tune. He proceeded to play a slowed excerpt of Coldplay's "Clocks." The keys were smooth. The piano played brilliantly, as though it was in perfect working order. Not like it had sat abandoned for years. He finished playing the chorus and sighed, laying his head on his arm across the keys. Before he knew it, he'd nodded off.

Jason opened his eyes. He thought he'd heard humming. "I could've sworn I heard someone humming 'Clocks'," he said to himself as he looked around the empty room. He slowly turned back to the piano and was startled as the moth landed right in front of him.

"Oh, geez! There you are. Don't scare me like that! Did you see anyone?" he jokingly asked the moth. "Either I'm going even more insane, or someone was humming the song I literally just played. But no one is here. Well besides me and you." The moth flew out of sight. "Guess I'd better get going, too," Jason said as he stood from the piano, stretching his stiff limbs.

When he opened the door to his house, he was met with the sound of his parents arguing. The only thing they ever seemed to agree on was that they didn't agree on anything. He decided not to intervene and went to his room. The shouting match went on for another half hour, ending with a slammed door. Probably his dad going to the bar to blow off steam, a common occurrence these days.

Jason was startled by his mom throwing open the door. "What is THIS about you cheating on an exam!?" He didn't even get a chance to respond.

"You're just like your father. No good, and never will be! I can't believe this!" she said as she slammed the door.

Jason looked blankly at his ceiling as a tear formed. "Maybe she's right..." He went into his closet and dug out a knife. Something he'd been saving for a while. He'd contemplated it before, but this time was different. He'd learned that if you want to do non-lethal damage, you cut across. If you wanted to do real harm, you cut along the veins. He looked out his window before holding the knife directly above his left arm, only millimeters away. He started to shake and cry before throwing the knife to the floor.

"No. I need to get out of here." He opened his window and climbed down the roof to the gutter drainpipe. He dropped down to the ground and ran towards the old church. He didn't stop running until he got to the hallway leading to the piano room. He slowed down to catch his breath. But as he entered the room, his breath left him again.