The Movie in My Mind

Sense and Sensibility

Grace burst into the room happily. There was another film playing at the Middleton Theatre: "Sense and Sensibility".
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..." Her mother, Cassie, began serendipitously quoting Shakespeare.
"Hey, that's just like the line in the movie!" Grace smiled. Her mother knew so much. She hoped that she could be like her one day.
Cassie turned to her side to see Sam trying not to crack up. "What are you finding so funny?"
He made a small gesture to try and deflect its laughter, "nothing! I just... thought of that runner, that woman who used to read Shakespeare to herself to calm herself down before a race? She'd love this type of film, you know, all period drama-esque?"
Cassie agreed. "I think she would." They all grabbed their bags (including the Shakespeare loving runner) and headed to the cinema to be whisked away by Jane Austen's magic.
There was a hushed silence in the theatre. They had just gotten to the part where Marianne's piano is moved so she can see the coast which their house overlooks. It was peculiar how earlier that day her mum had asked for the piano to be moved, and how they found this handwritten song which Sam played and they all fell in love with. It was just like the scene they were watching now. Grace loved how often life imitated art in Grey House. She let her mind run and simultaneously let the day's events run with the moving images in front of her.

• • •

"Thank you George!" Cassie's voice chimes down to the hallway.
She had asked for the piano to be moved into the room next to the entrance as it was gathering dust due to it sitting unloved and neglected in the attic. Grace and Nick were helping to move the stool from upstairs. Hopefully it would have them working together and talking to each other again.
"Let's just fake a truce." Nick stated dryly.
"Yes. Let's do that. Our parents want to get married, so let's make them think that we at least like each other. Then, in a few years, we'll be in college." Stated Grace, following along with this plan that they had created.
"Yeah. Shake on it." Nick took his hand off of the stool, much to Grace's chagrin, "but, look, our hands aren't free." Grace smiled sardonically in response to his sarcastic comment. She couldn't wait to be free of this idiot.
They made their way down the stairs and placed the stool next to the piano. They both left the room very awkwardly, but that didn't matter. The lovebirds, Cassie and Sam, and Abigail, were still in there, so the atmosphere could still be cheered up somewhat.
Sam was perched on the edge of the stool, with Cassie and George's eyes attentively on him. This piano made him curious, and it deserved to have someone making music out of it.
"I didn't know you played!" Cassie exclaimed, "how many more hidden talents do you have that I don't know about?"
Sam laughed nervously, "Ah, I don't play well. Just enough to make people think that I do."
He was just about to play again before Abigail urged him to sit properly on the stool. An odd request, but she was a Merriwick, just like Cassie, so her requests would probably lead to some magical thing happening, or a prediction coming true.
"Oh!" Cassie gasped, suddenly seeing the piano stool crammed with papers. "What's this?"
They all crowded around Sam, who was holding a browning, what seemed to be, very old piece of paper. He traced his hand along the page, marvelling at the carefully arranged blotches of ink. Underneath some of the dots were letters, some with little numbers written like indices on top of this mysterious code.
"It's sheet music," Sam announced, "the song has no title, or words for that matter." He handed the paper to Cassie, who seemed completely transfixed by the initials that were inscribed at the bottom right hand corner of this mysterious manuscript.
She called George to come and look at the mysterious letters. They bore some resemblance to some music that he had listened to in the past. He knew of this mysterious artist, but he couldn't place that song that they had found in the stool. "It doesn't seem like it was ever published. I don't recognise the melody, but it's beautiful!"
Sam extended his hand to Cassie, "I think I've decided one thing..."
"And what's that?" She replied, her quizzical facial expression matching her curiously bewildered tone.
"I think that this should be the song at our wedding."
Cassie wistfully grinned, "Yes. I'd love to walk down the aisle to it." She sat by his side and watched and listened as he played their newly discovered gem.

• • •

Cassie, Sam, Abigail, George, Grace and Nick all headed home. They had experienced enough magic for one night.