She sat down at the piano, sighing. It was another one of those days. She sighed again. They were occuring more frequently ever since... She shook her head to rid the bad thoughts. She wouldn't think about it. Not now. Maybe not ever. She'd rather forget it all together. She pulled back the cover of the piano. Neatly folding the red cloth covering the keys and placing it on the piano top. The piano here was different than the one back... there. Nonetheless, it was still a good piano. She closed her eyes briefly and relaxed. Taking a deep breath, she opened them again. This time her eyes took on a different quality. They were distant, as if she were actually far, far away from the small, dim music room she was in. In a way, she was. Far away in her mind, recalling a previous memory from so long ago. She began to play.
Her fingers, long and slender, danced over the keys. Instinctively finding the notes to a well known melody. A beautiful noise emerged from beneath the plain, shiny black casing. But the creator of such a noise was deaf to the song, deaf to the beauty. Deaf to everything around her as she submerged herself in memories of her past. The sound filled the room and escaped under the door. The song echoed throughout the halls and many stopped what they were doing just to listen to the mysterious melody that haunted the winding corridors. Something about the song calmed them. Something about it drew a smile from their mouths. Something about it made their hearts lighter, lifting the burden of their worries for the time that those notes rang out.
But for the pianist herself, a smile never graced her delicate features. Not even a sliver of emotion, neither happiness nor sadness. Just blank, emotionless. She used to smile, but that was a while ago. Last time, when she played, her melody was accompanied by the laughter and cheerful voices of her friends. But that was a while ago. Now, her lone melody was accompanied by emptiness. It made her feel hollow inside. She could only recall the ghosts of their laughter now. So happy, so cheerful..., but that was before- that.
Slowly, the music faded away and there was only a heavy silence. Whatever light there was in the beginning was now gone. She replaced the red cloth and slid the cover back over. Rising, she walked over to the window. Observing the night sky and the stars that had replaced the orange glow of sunset. There was no moon tonight. Drawing the curtains, the figure stepped away. Making her way easily in the total darkness, she exited the room.
There was a soft click of the door closing. Then silence.