1. STRINGS

13 4 10
                                    

She walked slowly into the empty room. Brushing off a stray cobweb over her head, she made way towards the reminiscent corner, pushing away the dusty furniture. She wiped off dust from her jeans and looked up.
There. The key to all her nostalgia.

I'm here again.

She spoke softly and ran her lithe fingers over the black cloth, now speckled with dust particles and cobwebs at the corners.
Her fingers found way to the now-rusty zipper in which the prized object was encased. Tugging on it, she tried to open it, but in no avail. After yanking and tugging a little more, it gave way, but the zipper broke and the chain fell to the floor, which was once a polished marble specimen, now coated with a layer of dirt.
Simply pulling the zip open, she flicked off the dust particles off the age-old wooden table and sat down on it.
She pulled on a string. The soft twang of the guitar string reverberated into the pin-drop silent room.
Another tug. Another twang.
She furrowed her eyebrows, her pretty frame creasing into a deep frown as she shook her head.

Tuning. There's fault in the tuning.

Her free hand glided towards the head of the guitar. Turning the keys, she clenched her jaw as she concentrated on each string's tuning.
After five minutes, a satisfactory smile spread across her precise features.

Done.

Her nimble fingers then stroked the guitar strings in a loving manner. As if it was a part of her own.
Pressing onto the right chords, she strummed a note and sang along, her chirpy voice coming out loud and clear, but simultaneously with a hint of chirp and honey in it.
Her lips formed into a little smile, revealing a set of white, pearly teeth.

Perfect.

Once again, her nightingale-like voice echoed into the tranquility as she strummed the notes yet again and sang a song.

That song.
The song I used to sing for him.
I couldn't forget that day.

A lone tear escaped her doe-like eyes and rolled down her glossy cheek, falling with a clear 'plop' on the floor.

A single tear.

Soon to become a stream, sliding down her now crestfallen face, melancholy wrought all over in what used to be her dainty features.

She continued to sing the song without any effort. The pace of her strumming became more powerful, her voice started cracking a little as she wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

By the end of the song, she placed the guitar away gingerly, and at an instant, fell to the floor.
Crumbling.
Crying her heart and eyes out.
Soft whimpers replaced the angelic voice that was present in the room a few minutes earlier.

She still remembered her last day with him. Etched in her mind as clear as crystal.

_________

"Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you
It takes me all the way
I want you to stay~"

She sang for the boy lying on the bed, who was watching her with his head propped up on his elbow, with a look of pure love for her.

"You know what, Amber. You should really consider taking up singing and guitar for your career. Not some corporate job like me and regret it later-" He chuckled at his own words.

She kept a straight face, staring into his green eyes intensely.
For one last time.

He sighed.
"Amber, please-"
He tried to sit up.

"Please, don't be like this. You know how much In love you, don't you?" He lifted her head up, looking deeply into her eyes.

" Will-" She hit his chest lightly and snuggled her head inside the crook of his neck.

"Promise me. You'll stay with me forever",She whispered softly.

"And ever", she could hear him chuckle as they hugged, never letting go.

________

A gust of wind, followed by a rustle of the curtains that caused the guitar strings to echo was what brought her back into the present.

" You said you'd be with me forever", she smiled sadly and walked away with heavy steps, outside the room, into the vast green expanse of hilly mountainous scenery that stretched before her.

"I'm here. And I'll always be with you."
Said another voice inside the room, as the boy watched her form disappear.
A little smile formed on his face as he stood up and turned, vanishing into thin air.

The room went back to how it was.
Lonely.
Isolated.
Sorrowful.

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