Armageddon in C# Minor

Page 1 of 7

"No!  No, no, no, no, no!"  The piano echoed his frustration, belching out misspoken chords to punctuate his outburst and yelling silently in pain as he slammed the lid shut.  Isaac glared hatefully at the instrument, breathing in ragged gasps, his lips twisting his otherwise handsome face with a snarl.  The pages of the composition he was working on fluttered to the carpet.

"I almost had it!  Christ!"  He struggled to keep from abusing the instrument further, and stormed off as he found himself loosing that battle.  Within moments, he returned from the hallway bathroom, his face still dripping with cooling water from its once-again human countenance.  He took a deep breath, gathered up the sheets of scribbled notes and rests from the floor, and took his seat again.  Gently, almost kindly he raised the lid that covered the keys, and started playing again a few measures before where he'd left off.  He hummed along softly as the music floated from his hands.

His fingers came to their previous stopping point, and choked once more.  He started again from a measure before the last notes he'd written, and again his fingers died as the unfinished melody hung in the air.

Isaac pulled his hands from the keys of the upright and stared intently, almost pleadingly at the black and white bars he had devoted his life to.

"Dammit!"  Half from the force of his scream, half from the blind swinging of his arm, his composition went flying throughout the room.  His short outburst exhausted his rage, leaving a hollow despair in its wake.  He hung his head and cried silently into his hands.  Absorbed in his lost creativity, he didn't notice Karen until she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Not going well dear?" she asked kindly.  He laughed bitterly.

"Even 'not going well' would be alright.  It's not going at all.  I can't even get the wrong notes out anymore."  

"You've been working for hours Isaac; why don't you call it a night and get some rest?"  Her voice was soothing, but it didn't kill his frustrated despondency completely.  She rubbed his back gently as he stared at the ancient Baldwin upright, like a petulant child at the door of a friend who had to go home early.  Finally, he sighed wearily.

"You're right.  I'm sorry.  I'll be there in a moment."  She brushed a kiss on the top of his head and walked out of his studio without a word.  Isaac watched her walk into the hall, and his gaze drifted back to the piano, no longer petulant, but longing, sorrowful, as though the piano were the fresh grave of a recently departed friend.  He thought for a moment about trying to get the next measure written, then resigned himself to bed for the night.

He found Karen already asleep when he entered, smiling placidly at whatever dreams graced her night.  He quietly slipped under the covers and turned out the light.  Within moments, in spite of his frustration, Isaac was asleep.

Page 2 |Page 3 |Page 4 |Page 5 |Page 6 |Page 7 |Next >