Feeling The Music

• Keely Galvin, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2010

The music surrounded her, swept her in. The sound filled her body with a hope she’d never felt before, an understanding that she’d never realised. It took away all the pain and despair, replaced it with joy and delight.The sweet sound filled her, quenched her thirst. Her heart was filled with wonder and happiness, her soul with calmness and gentleness. The melody took her in, surrounded her, drew her into the centre. Goals were put in place and dreams were set higher. Her spirits were lifted, her sorrows ran away.
But with everything good, there was something bad. Nothing stays perfect forever. The delight and joy was replaced with fear and terror, as once happy dreams turned black. They shriveled up under the despair and disappeared. Her steps grew slow and eyelids drooped as her spirit dropped down. There was nothing left except for sadness and hate, there was no room for the good things in life. Brought back to the ground after flying, the girl turned around miserably, and sorrow engulfed her.
Once again, the music brightened, but with it there was something else. Sorrow mingled with joy, happiness with despair. The girl’s steps began to grow lighter, but there was a certain heaviness that hadn’t been there before. The dreams that had turned black grew happy once more but they no longer brought the hope they had before. The hope was still there, in the background, waiting to come out, but it no longer leapt at the chance to make the girl lighthearted. The girl stayed on the ground, but didn’t sag. And then the girl knew, knew why the music had come. She understood- this was life. Leaving the girl standing, the music slunk away, but left behind everything it had given.