-1The Secret of the Music
Edward and I were sitting in his living room one horribly sunny afternoon after school. I was trying to work on my Trig homework but it was hard since the only thing I was paying attention to was Edward playing my lullaby. Suddenly a thought popped into my head: when did Edward learn to play the piano?
"Hey Edward!"
"Yes, Love?" Edward responded, not bothering to remove his hands from the keys.
"When did you learn to play the piano?"
"Bella, you are being absolutely absurd." Edward sighed.
"How so?" I asked, irritated.
"It would be the same as me asking you why you are so clumsy. It's just something that comes naturally to me." he explained.
"But I didn't learn how to be clumsy. You on the other hand had to learn how to play the piano."
"Fine, I'll tell you. I learned how to play partially when I was human and when I became a vampire. Happy now?"
"No." I said sharply. "There has to be a better story than that. Why won't you tell me?"
"I hate seeing you cry," he said sadly.
"You won't tell me because you think I'll cry at a learn-to-play-the-piano story?"
"Yes. If I could cry and I heard this story, I would."
I sat there wondering just how sad this story could be when Edward moved over to the couch where I sat and he wrapped his arm around me and told his story.
"When I was growing up my mother used to play the piano for me. Her favorite song was 'Fur Elise'." Edward paused to take a walk down Memory Lane. "I never felt like I did anything to make my parents proud of me. So just before the epidemic struck, I decided to take piano lessons, hoping my mother would be proud of me. After I thought I had her favorite song perfected, I wanted my mother to hear me play. She and my father then came down with the flu. I cried the whole way as I brought her and my father to the hospital. I knew that the Influenza would claim her life soon and she would never get to hear me play for her. A couple days later I came down with the flu and was lying alongside her in the hospital. After I 'died' I realized I loved playing the piano. Carlisle saw this and bought me a baby grand piano. I started working harder on it than before and soon I mastered over fifty songs. I knew that even though she was dead, somehow my mother could hear me and I knew she would always be proud of me for learning something she loved."
I turned away from Edward, not wanting him to see the tears welling up in my eyes.
"I knew this would happen," he said while wiping a tear from my eye. "I hate seeing you cry"
"Edward, that was beautiful." I told him.
"What?" Edward asked confused.
"You taught yourself how to play the piano just to make your mom proud of you. You didn't give up even after she died." I said with new tears coming to my eyes.
Edward said nothing but instead carried me over to the piano bench. I leaned my head against his shoulder, listening to him play.
"I love you Isabella," he whispered to me.
"I love you too Edward." I said back to him. He leaned into kiss me and in the background I heard the tune of "Fur Elise".