Notes: Jay is about 12 years old in this story. Set shortly after his father's death.
Lucinda Guthrie woke from an uneasy sleep. She lay in bed a moment, trying to pinpoint what had interrupted her slumber.
It came again - the barest strains of a guitar, whispering through the still air. Her heart caught on each note, and she rose to seek the source, careful to avoid glancing at the empty half of her bed.
Slipping from the house, she followed the music to the barn. She shivered under the waning moon, wishing she'd slipped a robe over her nightgown. Though summer was approaching, all the nights had seemed colder since Tom had passed.
The music grew louder, the tune familiar but not yet recognized. Curiosity growing, Lucinda slid around the barely open door.
The sight of her second eldest son greeted her. Auburn hair shining in the low light of an electric torch, he played to an audience of one elderly, half-asleep dog. "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head. Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she's gone."
Tears wet her eyes as Lucinda moved farther into the barn. Unnoticing, Josh continued the song.
"Lucy in the sky with diamonds." His voice was clear, and soft. "Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Lucy in the sky-" alerted by her shadow, he broke off and spun, wide-eyed, to face his mother.
"Mom! I, uh-" he looked guiltily at the guitar in his arms. Lucinda's gaze followed, in a flash, she recognized the instrument.
"Joshua." She was surprised at how steady her voice was. "That's your father's guitar, isn't it?" she questioned softly.
"I'm sorry. I know we aren't supposed to go into the attic by ourselves, and I know I shouldn't have taken it." Sliding the strap off, Josh offered the guitar to her, and hung his head. "I just missed playing, that's all. Dad- he was teaching me, you know. 'Fore he got sick."
Lucinda gently pushed the guitar back into his arms. She noted the warmth it held, echoes of Josh's body heat. Such a contrast to the chill it carried, the day she'd placed Tom's things away in the attic. For safekeeping, she'd told herself. Truth was, it'd been easier to deal with their absence than the frequent reminders they presented.
"It's all right, Josh." She said, moving to sit on an overturned crate. "I think-" she inhaled deeply- "I think you should keep it. Keep playing. It's what your dad would want." Another breath, girding herself against the ache in her heart. "This family's been without music for too long now."
Joshua settled the strap back onto his shoulders and sat down, nestling the guitar in his arms. "Been too quiet around here. Not that it's ever quiet around here," he snorted quietly, referring to his multitude of siblings. "But I miss Dad playing for us."
"I miss it too." A smile, rare these days, graced Lucinda's face. "He used to play that song for me, you know. Back when we were courtin'. He's the only man I ever let get away with calling me 'Lucy.' That's how I knew I was going to marry him."
Josh smiled back at her. "I know. He told me the stories. S'why he taught it to me. Said I had to be prepared, 'cuz someday I'd find my own 'girl with kaleidoscope eyes.'"
Tears blurred the meager light and Lucinda hurriedly wiped them away. "Play something else for me, Josh. I'd like to hear you."
Her son nodded and set his fingers on the strings. The tune he played was meant for a piano, but the notes were true and his clear voice drifted out to the stars. "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be..."