The City Sleeps for Me

15 - Emily

Emily

I pull out the last, quivering note and blink open my eyes, breathing deeply. My hands are shaking.

Mrs. Summers is staring at me with wide eyes.

"So," I say quietly, and I realize a few other people around the library are looking at me too. A college student sitting at a desk, a middle-aged woman leaning against the bookshelf... I clear my throat and glance to Rebecca.

She's smiling. "That was amazing," she says.

"Absolutely amazing," agrees Mrs. Summers, her voice hushed, and she begins to clap. A few other people join in, and I blush deeply, my face burning.

"Thanks," I mumble. I suck in oxygen and shake the jitters out of my hands.

I thought I played okay. I was so, so nervous. I bet everyone could tell. It wasn't the same as playing in front of just Rebecca - I didn't get as quite as lost in the music as I sometimes did, and I thought about my music way too much, but still, it was fun, a little.

I let my violin hang at my side and half-smile at Mrs. Summers.

"Honestly," Mrs. Summers says, shaking her head. Today, she has on a purple knit cardigan, and of course, her crystal sunflower brooch. "That was incredible, Emily."

"Thank you," I say, very much aware of how red my face is turning. Outside the windows, the sky is dark, and street lamps and headlights flash through the glass. 

I turn to Rebecca. "We should probably get going. I have a Bio test tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Rebecca says. "Bye, Mrs. Summers. I'll see you later."

"Bye girls," she says. She still looks a little shell-shocked, and her eyes are still wide. "Great job again, Emily."

I walk up the stairwell beside Emily, and we grab our things from the study room. I pull on my coat and lock up my violin, and she swings her backpack around her shoulders. On the way out, an elderly man in a plaid button-down shirt smiles at me, and I smile back.

Outside, I breathe in the cold air. My legs are still wobbly. "God," I say loudly. "That was scary."

Rebecca walks beside me, her cane tapping on the concrete. A car zooms beside us, and light from tall buildings spills down onto the streets. It's getting late out, but the city seems wide awake. 

"Are you glad you did it?" asks Rebecca. She pulls a knit hat over her ears, her ponytail spilling down her back. The icy wind stings at my nose and I shiver slightly, my violin case bouncing against my jeans.

"I guess so," I say, and glance sideways at her. Lights flash on her face and freckles. "Thanks for making me do that."

"I didn't make you do anything," she says, and she's smiling. "You did it yourself. Now you're ready to kick ass at your audition."

"Maybe."

Something cold lands on my cheek, and I glance up towards the black sky. "Is it snowing?"

Rebecca sticks out her tongue. "First snowfall! I love the snow."

Small white flakes dance in the sky, illuminated by the yellow glow of street lamps. I look at Rebecca again. A pale snowflake sticks to her dark hair. "Me too," I say. 

I take her hand. She has on grey gloves, and mine are black, and her hand feels warm in mine. 

A faint blush spreads across her cheeks, and she smiles. I blush, too. But I don't let go, and we walk down the city streets. Standing so close beside her, my fingers intertwined with hers, snow drifting lazily from the night sky, the city doesn't feel as awake as before. Like it sleeps just for me. Just for us.

We stop in front of her apartment. I don't want to let her hand go. 

"Goodnight," she whispers. Her eyes stare off into something deeper, long eyelashes framing them. Her lips are full and soft. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," I say. She squeezes my hand and lets it go, and then hurries up the steps to her apartment. 

I walk to the bus stop slowly, letting the cold wind and snowflakes brush against my lips, and smile.

~

When I walk through the front door of my apartment, my father is sitting on his armchair watching the news, a beer on the coffee table. He looks over his shoulder at me.

"Hi, Emily," he says tiredly. "Can you text me next time when you're getting back later?"

I have the strangest, strongest urge to curl up on his lap like I used to do when I was little and breathe in his fresh cologne, and he would wrap his arm around me and kiss my forehead, and then when it got late out he would pick me up and carry me to my bedroom.

"Okay," I say instead. "Hey, Dad?"

He rubs his hand over his stubbled face. "Yeah?"

"Can I play you a song?"

He glances at me, surprised. "Okay."

"It's not super cheerful."

He mutes the television. "Okay."

So I play. And this time, everything really does melt away, like snow that melts on freckles, and I don't feel anything at all except for the music that's been swirling around in my brain for ages, and I inhale in the sweet, perfect smell of my violin and close my eyes and play for my father the song that I realize I probably wrote for my father.

When I'm done, my eyes are watery and I blink quickly. My father watches me, stands up and hugs me suddenly, and I breathe in his fresh cologne. 

Outside, the city sleeps. 

~

~

~

The End

Author's Note: Thank you so much everyone for sticking around to read this story!! :) As I've said, this was definitely a shorter piece so I'm sorry if you wanted it to be longer! Who knows, maybe in the future I'll come back to this and keep writing. I appreciate every single read, vote, and comment, so thank you guys :) 

Also, the song I included is just a violin piece that I recently fell in love with! If you want, you can imagine this to be the piece Emily played, but you don't have to! I personally didn't imagine Emily's song to be that exactly, but probably similar. Also, I just really like it :) Another piece I listened to while writing / imagined Emily's song to have a similar sound was "Schindler's List Theme Song", the version on Youtube by Ann Fontanella if you wanted to look it up!

Anyway, thank you again! If you want, check out some of my other works! Also feel free to PM me with questions or anything :)

- M