Animorphs: The Song
Insert normal disclaimer here.
Thought-speak in italics (actually, I don't think there is any, but I'll leave it here just in case I'm wrong.)
Note: Alright, and now for something completely different. It's part story, part poem, part songfic, and even part komodo dragon. To get the full effect, you'll need this file: (www .savefile. com/files/1361445) without the parenthesis and take out the spaces (stupid formating crap...). Don't worry, it's not a virus or porn or anything like that. I think it'll be pretty clear when to start playing it. If you don't want to use it you don't have to, but since it's the main reason that I'm writing this story I'd suggest that you do. If you're reading this story years after I posted it and the link doesn't work anymore, send me a pm or an email and I'll make sure to get it to you.
On to the actual story. Sorry that it's a bit longer than a normal one shot, but I had to explain a few things. I could've just went "and then this happened, and then I did this..." but that would've been boring and stupid. And if you like this one I have another one in development (check after the story for more details).
Alright, enough blabber. It's time for you to enjoy the story.
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My name is Tobias, and I was one happy hawk. My day had been absolutely perfect. Why you ask? Because I got to spend most of it with Rachel.
School was canceled today for one of those faculty meeting things, and everybody desperately needed a break from the fighting, so Jake told us all to take the day off. Rachel and I hadn't had much time to spend together lately, so a few days earlier we decided to make today a special day for us.
I arrived at her house at around 9 a.m. this morning and I gently tapped on her window to wake her up. Once she was up she wished me a good morning and began to get ready. After waiting on the roof of her house for a bit I eventually saw Rachel walk out of her house, looking as gorgeous as ever, secretly holding a pair of clothes for me. That was my cue to fly ahead a bit and begin to morph. By the time she reached me I was fully human. I put on the reasonably fitting clothes (probably donated from Jake) and then we started to walk towards the mall like any normal couple would've.
Once we got there we had fun browsing, window shopping, and just plain-old hanging out for a few hours. But Rachel, being Rachel of course, had somehow accumulated bags full of clothes and other things almost magically as we went from store to store. Being the gentleman that I usually am, I was the one who had to carry all of them. Before I knew it my arms felt like they were going to fall off.
"Rachel," I called out on the verge of having to gasp for air, "have you bought everything in the mall yet?"
She gave me a playful slap on the arm and said, "Oh come on Tobias, I'm not that bad."
We both looked towards the pile of bags that I had set down on the floor. When Rachel looked back at me I had a large grin on my usually emotionless face.
"Well, okay," she finally consented, "I have gone a bit overboard today."
"Yeah," I agreed, "my arms are just about to fall off."
"Okay, okay," she said back, "I get it. I'm getting a little tired myself actually. How about we go get something to eat and then go see a movie. We'll come in just as the previews are ending and leave as soon as it's over."
"Sounds like a plan to me," I said back as I grabbed the dozen or so bags and began to follow her to the food court.
I agreed to pay for the movie as long as Rachel paid for the food. I found a twenty on the way to Rachel's house this morning, and what better way to spend it than on my girlfriend.
When she got back from buying the food she quickly put a large, juicy, heart-stopping triple cheeseburger down in front of me but she just as quickly placed her hand firmly on top of it.
"Now Tobias," Rachel said to me like she was my kindergarten teacher, "we're in a public place and it wouldn't be very polite of you to make a mess here in front of all these people. Now, I'm going to take my hand away soon and let you enjoy you cheeseburger, but before I can do that I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll take it slow and eat like the refined and courteous young man you really are."
My mind didn't comprehend what she had said until later. Right now Visser 3 himself could've walked up behind me and stuck a Yeerk in my ear if he wanted to. All I cared about and all I could see and smell was that cheeseburger. After having to live off wild mice for almost a year and a half by now a cheeseburger was the best thing that could've happened to me.
As I sat there drooling I could only guess that I had nodded or something to signify that I agreed. Rachel's hand slowly left the top of the cheeseburger and once she began to sit down at the other end of the table I literally pounced on top of it.
I remember nothing but the pure endorphin rush for the next minute or so. I tried to keep my eating sane, but once I took my first bite I just lost control. When my mind finally snapped back to reality the cheeseburger was all but gone. I had taken one of the few shreds of lettuce that had managed to escape from the burger and was currently dipping it in a mixture of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and who knows what else that had also drained out of my burger. I looked up to see Rachel staring at me with a grin while holding a whole bunch of napkins in her hand.
"Well," she said with a sigh, "so much for the refined and courteous young man thing." As I put the piece of lettuce I had been dipping into my mouth and chewed she began to wipe my face clean. I wasn't aware of how messy I really was until I saw what was in the napkin. And that was only the beginning. I had somehow managed to get everything from sesame seeds to the remains of a tomato everywhere from my hair down to my shoes. Being a witness to Ax's eating as a human plenty of times gave me an idea of what I had done.
"I'm sorry Rachel," I said back as I brushed some stuff out of my hair, "it's just that…"
"It's alright Tobias," she said back, "I'm getting use to it by now. It happens every time. But don't feel too bad, I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your position."
"Did anyone stare?" I said for a couple different reasons.
"A few," Rachel replied, "but I just told them the usual; that you had one free day to cheat on your diet."
I continued to clean myself up as Rachel finished eating her salad. Once I was relatively clean and she had finished, I grabbed the bags and we both headed off toward the movie theater.
I had no idea what movies were even playing so I let Rachel choose whatever she wanted to see. I paid for the tickets and we went inside to drop off the bags and get a good seat. Once the previews ended and the actual movie was beginning I made my way towards the bathroom to demorph and morph again so I'd be ready to sit through the entire movie. After I got back Rachel filled me in on what I missed. I took her hand in my own as we both started to watch the movie.
I don't even remember the title of the movie, but it was alright. It was some kind of romance movie, but it had enough action to rule it out as a chick flick. To be honest, I really wasn't concentrating on the movie much. I was far more interested in the person sitting next to me. Throughout the movie I kept a hold on her hand and every now and then we looked over at each other and exchanged a kiss. It was one of the best movies I'd ever been to.
After the movie was over I quickly gathered up all of the bags and rushed to the bathroom. The movie ran longer than I'd thought and I was almost out of time in my morph. But luckily I made it in time and the bathroom wasn't too crowded.
After I finished I joined Rachel, who was waiting for me outside the bathroom door guarding the bags, and we both made our way to the "secret" staircase. Rachel had her fun and now it was time for mine. Don't get me wrong, I love doing anything and everything with Rachel, but some things are just more fun than others. And we both decided that after the movie we'd go and do what I love the most, take a nice, long, relaxing flight together.
It was hard carrying all those bags up the stairs to the roof exit, but the thought of what was to come kept me going. I was gasping for breath by the time we made it to the roof, but a good morph would fix that soon enough. We hid the bags in our usual place on the roof (where we hid some spare clothes as well). And once that was done we gave each other one last kiss and then we both started to morph.
We took off at slightly different times and places so that we didn't arouse any suspicion. We kept in thought-speak range though and we "met up" a few miles away. We needed to keep as much distance as possible between us so that people looking up wouldn't start to get suspicious, but to be honest we didn't pay as much attention as we should've to that. Along with just the normal thermal riding and scenic viewing we often raced each other to various places and sometimes we would even play tag or something like that. I always had the advantage in almost everything we did since I was much smaller and more nimble, but most of the time I let Rachel win. I just enjoyed hearing her boast about how she was better at everything when she and I both knew that I could beat her without even trying.
But we didn't just goof off and lazily fly around. The part I enjoyed most about our flights together is the time we had to openly talk to each other, and today was no exception. We talked about normal stuff like how school was going, what I did all day, and how to do a spiral in midair without losing any altitude. And then there were the more important discussions like everything we were both going through because of the war. We were able to give comfort and support to each other, and that was the only reason that both of us were still sane now. It's been around a year and a half since we all walked into that abandoned construction site, and the emotions were starting to seriously pile up. And the fact that there was no end in sight made it even worse. But out here in the middle of nowhere we were able to open up in private thought-speak and let some of our emotions out. This was one of the only times that I ever see Rachel as she truly was behind her cold warrior exterior, and it was one of the only times that I ever opened up and let anything out myself. Times like these were the most important part of our relationship hands down, and both of us couldn't have survived without them.
But as helpful as times like these were, eventually everything began devolving into one big pile of sadness and misery. So as the sun started to go down we decided to end the day on a happy note. We made our way to one of our favorite spots that overlooked the ocean and we watched the sun go down while holding one another in our arms.
I really loved that part too. There was nothing better than watching a gorgeous sun set while I lay next to the most gorgeous girl on the planet. And with both of us snuggled together nothing else mattered to me then. I was in my own little world and I could've stayed there forever if I had the chance.
But unfortunately I didn't. The sun had to set eventually and eventually it did. While the last rays of sunshine were shining their final light of the day, Rachel gently rolled over and gave me a kiss.
"Tobias," she said gently, "we should be getting back. We still have to stop at the mall and pick up my things and it'll be dark any minute now."
"Yeah," I agreed with a sigh, "but I don't wanna go."
"Me either," Rachel said giving me another kiss, "but we have to." And with that, she slowly began her transformation. I gave one last look around before I reluctantly followed her and started to demorph.
Since Rachel had the owl morph she led the way back. It was already too dark for my hawk eyes even before we took off, so I just followed her as closely as I could. We weren't worried about birdwatchers now since they'd need a spotlight to see us.
When we made it to the mall Rachel flew up to where we had stored everything, but I flew into some bushes on the edge of the parking lot. You see, the door to the roof only opens from the inside. And since we couldn't morph any real clothes there was no way Rachel was going to walk through the mall in her gymnast's suit; there'd be too many questions later on. Instead, I had to be the one that went through the mall looking like I just got my clothes stolen.
So I morphed and made my way into the mall. I'd done this before, so I had some experience trying not to look like some homeless kid just wandering around. Eventually I made it to the "secret" staircase and climbed up to the roof to open the door.
Rachel was standing there just behind the door (looking as gorgeous as ever by the way) ready to keep the door open while I put on my set of clothes and picked up the bags. After we exchanged another kiss we started to make our way down the stairs and out of the mall.
I insisted we take the bus to Rachel's house and she reluctantly agreed. She wanted to walk back, but when I told her that she would have to carry her own stuff she thought better about it. We couldn't talk as openly on the bus as we could've walking down a deserted street, but it didn't really matter to me. Just being next to Rachel was enough of a reward.
Luckily the bus wasn't very crowded. We took a seat in the back and proceeded to talk about everyday things again until we arrived at our stop. It was still a decent walk from the bus stop to Rachel's house, but it was far better than the walk from the mall would've been. Nevertheless, my arms were burning by the time we reached the edge of her lawn.
We decided a long time ago that it wouldn't be a good idea for Rachel's mom and sisters to know she was dating me. Again, there'd just be too many questions. And if one of us slipped up somewhere in either of our stories then the consequences could be disastrous. It was just safer for me to keep out of sight.
So once we reached the edge of Rachel's lawn (there was a nice fence that bordered the next yard so we always hid behind that to stay out of view) I literally dropped the bags and groaned as I tried to move my arms again. Rachel gave me another playful hit on the arm and said, "Stop it, they're not that heavy." I just gave her a small smile as we exchanged a kiss.
"I had a fabulous day today," I said to Rachel as we parted slightly, "One of the best I've ever had."
"Me too Tobias," she said back as I reached in for one last kiss. After we finally exchanged goodnights I reluctantly backed away and started to make my way behind the neighbor's house. There was a nice nook there that could only be seen from one direction, and about five feet away in that direction there was a solid fence, so that's where I usually morphed. I managed to become a hawk again in time to flap up to the fence and see Rachel almost effortlessly carrying the bags to her door. It reminded me once again that Rachel wasn't just some brain-dead mall rat or a ruthless warrior. She could be so weak and fragile sometimes, but when the job called for something different it always amazed me at how much she could change when she needed to. I sent her a final goodnight in thought-speak before I took off and began flapping for some altitude.
And now, you're all caught up with what's happened. Nice little story, eh? Well, it's no where near done yet. If that was all that happened and I just made my way to my meadow to fall asleep then I probably wouldn't be writing this right now. It's what happened afterwards that really makes the story worth writing.
I did debate whether to just go back to my field and sleep, but I knew I couldn't. I was too… inspired to sleep right now. That's why I was heading towards something else. It's something that I've kept secret from everybody, even including Ax and Rachel. It's not that I'm ashamed or embarrassed about it or anything; it's just that it's never come up in conversation before. Are you ready to be the first to hear the earth-shattering secret? Alright, you better sit down if you're not sitting already because it's going to blow you away.
I can play the guitar.
Stop the presses and call in all the reporters! We have a new headline story!
Well, okay. Maybe it's not that spectacular, but it's one of the only secrets I have left all to myself. Other than the fact that it's never come up before, I've never told anyone including Ax and Rachel for a reason. Ax says that he hates human music, so it's probably best not to tell him that I can play an instrument. And as for Rachel, well… I was kind of hoping to surprise her one day. Maybe when I had a few songs written about her I'd take her out to a secluded meadow and play them for her. But that was my problem; I didn't have any songs.
It wasn't too hard to come up with some chord progressions and/or a melody line, but I've always had trouble with the lyrics. They just never seem to come no matter what I did. I've tried a few times, but I could never really express how I feel about Rachel in words. But I had a feeling that was going to change tonight. I had an idea and I wasn't going to waste it.
Alright, I know what you're saying to yourself now. "How did you ever learn to play the guitar when your aunt and uncle would've never allowed you to?" Well, the fact is that they never knew. It all started back when I was ten…
I was living with my uncle at the time so I was going to the same school that the other future animorphs were going to as well. As far back as I could remember my uncle had always sat drunk in front of the TV all day so there was really no reason for me to go home after school. My uncle didn't even care whether I was home or not, so long as I didn't disrupt his TV watching. School was my escape from my home life, and everyday I made it last as long as I could. I didn't want to go home, but I didn't really have many friends to hang out with either since I was always so quiet and shy, so I usually found some other way to kill time in and around the school. But this particular day would be different, very different.
I was walking down one of the many empty hallways looking for something to do when I began to hear someone playing a guitar. And it wasn't just any guitar playing, it was beautiful. I absolutely had to see where it was coming from.
I raced down the hall checking room after room, and as I got closer the sound began to get louder and louder. And when I finally reached the right room I saw the music teacher, Mr. Samuels, sitting on his desk with an acoustic guitar in his hands. He was so intently focused on what he was playing that he didn't notice me slowly come in. And that was a good thing since he kept on playing as I stood in the doorway and watched.
The music coming from that one guitar was absolutely beautiful. Intricate melodies, beautiful chord progressions, and just a happy overall attitude gave the piece an alluring quality. I just couldn't turn away even if I would've wanted to.
I was transfixed on him until he eventually did notice me. He instantly grinded to a halt and looked a bit embarrassed as he said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Can I help you?"
"That was really pretty," I said in my cute little ten-year-old voice. "How did you do that?"
"Well…" he said trying to come up with something, "With a lot of practice and determination you can do just about anything. I've been playing the guitar ever since I was about your age, so I've had a lot of time to practice."
"I wish I could do that," I said shyly.
"Well," he said back, "there's no reason that you can't one day. All you need is the will to learn."
"Um…" I said shyly again, "could you teach me to play like that?"
He looked a bit flustered and worried after I said that. I didn't know it at the time, but I was asking a big favor from him. And to do something like that for someone that you've never met before, and for free no less, was asking an awful lot.
He looked down at the floor, at his watch, at the door, and just about everywhere else in the room before he said, "Shouldn't you be getting home? I mean, won't your parents be mad if you're late?"
"No," I said back calmly and innocently, "both my parents are dead. I'm living with my uncle now, but sometimes I go to my aunt's house and live there. My uncle doesn't care if I'm home or not. All he cares about is that I don't interrupt his TV watching. I don't like him very much. He never plays with me or takes me anywhere."
Mr. Samuels winced a bit after hearing that. "Gee," he said back, "it seems you have a rough life kid. Is your aunt any better?"
"No," I said back, "I don't like her very much either. Whenever I'm not at school she has me doing chores, and I never have any time to do anything else."
Mr. Samuels gave a sigh as he said, "Yeah, I know how you feel. My parents weren't very nice either. They went through a really bad divorce with me and my brother stuck in the middle. My dad was lazy but abusive when he wanted to be and my mother blamed all her problems on me and my brother."
"But, hey," he said with a change in his tone, "I made it through and you can too."
After that he gave me a smile, patted the portion of his desk next to him, and said, "Come and sit right here and I'll teach you what I can. We have a few smaller guitars for the junior guitar quartet that you can use. I take it that you've never played a guitar before?"
As I energetically jumped up onto the desk I shook my head in a big NO.
"Well, everyones got to start somewhere," he said back as he shuffled himself off the desk and went over to a nearby closet. He came back with a guitar about two-thirds the size of his own and gave it to me. "I guess we'll start with the basics," he said as he sat back down.
I was a natural, or so Mr. Samuels said anyway. I was playing my first song after only an hour or so and everything just took off from there. Once I knew a few basic things playing the guitar seemed really easy. I just sat back and let my fingers and hands do all the work. And before I knew it I was playing along with Mr. Samuels in quite a few songs.
Every day after school I would meet Mr. Samuels in the music room and we would play together. Sometimes it was only for half an hour or so, but sometimes we kept going until it was dark outside. And all the while I kept improving.
Mr. Samuels didn't just want to teach me how to play a guitar though. Once I had a solid grip on that, he began to get a bit into other stuff like basic music theory as well. At first I didn't really like it, but after I saw what could be done with that knowledge I quickly soaked up all that I could. Things like major/minor chord progressions, when to use a diminished seventh chord effectively, and general composition rules were only some of the things we taught me.
And that wasn't all either. Before I had met Mr. Samuels I had never really listened to music much. I mean, I guess that's what happens when you don't even have a working radio, much less a walkman or even a CD player. But Mr. Samuels opened me up to the musical world. He taught me songs from just about everybody ranging from Led Zeppelin and Cream to Metallica to Pearl Jam and Nirvana to Stevie Ray Vaughn. And after hearing some of that music for the first time I knew that I'd never be the same again.
At that moment I knew that I'd found what I wanted to do in life. It made me happy to just sit there with a guitar and improvise, and that's not something that happened much in my life. But, as later on in my life I was going to prove time and time again, I was never meant be happy for long periods of time.
A few months after meeting Mr. Samuels I was walking into my uncle's apartment after an unusually long practice session when my uncle rolled over on the couch and said almost incoherently, "Tobias, get you stuff. You're aunt's going to be here in half an hour."
I knew it was coming, but I wasn't expecting it to be so sudden. Usually I would get a few days warning before I switched houses, but I guess my aunt had found something very important for me to do that she needed me to do as soon as possible.
But that was the last thing on my mind right now. The first thing that I thought about was how I wouldn't be able to tell Mr. Samuels that I wouldn't be showing up for practice for a while. I had told him a few times that I'd have to go to my aunt's house eventually, but I still didn't feel right about just leaving like this. But there was nothing I could do. He had left the school at the same time I had so going back wasn't an option. I didn't know his home address or telephone number either, so he'd just have to find out by himself tomorrow when I didn't show up.
I didn't bother arguing with my uncle since I knew it wouldn't do any good. My aunt was already on her way here and she wasn't going to drive back without me. So I did the only thing I could do, accept defeat. I glumly strolled into my room and began to pack the few things that I did own into my bookbag.
When I heard a car horn outside my window I finally accepted the reality that I wasn't going to be playing guitar again for a while. I gloomily made my way out of my room, out of my uncle's apartment, and into my aunt's awaiting car. This was going to be the longest few months of my life.
The first thing I did on my first day at my "new" school was check out the music room. Compared to the school I went to at my uncle's house this school was horrible. Most of the classes didn't even have enough textbooks to go around, so there was no way that the music department was going to have any guitars. And, sure enough, there wasn't a guitar to be found. That's one of the first times that I can remember learning that if you don't get your hopes up you won't be as disappointed.
I wasn't going to let it be a total loss though. While I was still practicing with Mr. Samuels he taught me a few things that I could do to practice without a guitar since I didn't have one on my own. Most of the things he taught me dealt with improving my finger strength and dexterity, but they would still help me improve. Whenever I had any free time I practiced as much as I could. If I couldn't have a real guitar to practice with I was going to do everything I could without one.
As the months rolled by my finger strength and dexterity improved a whole lot and I couldn't wait to get back and show Mr. Samuels how much I'd improved. And finally, after about four months at my aunt's house, I finally got the news that I had been waiting for. I was going back to my uncle's.
I could barely sleep the day before I started school again at my uncle's. And I woke up extra early that morning in order to hopefully get some much needed guitar practice before school started. I quickly raced to school and got there just as it was opening. I quickly rushed to the music room where there was quite a surprise in store for me.
Instead of Mr. Samuels sitting behind his desk there was a very old woman instead. Once I got passed my initial surprise I slowly approached her and said, "Um, excuse me, is Mr. Samuels here?" When she looked up at me she had a very strange look on her face. But I guess that once she realized I was being serious she decided to give me an answer.
"Mr. Samuels was transferred to another school about a month or two ago."
"Oh," was all I could say back. I was heartbroken. The one thing that I had been looking forward to for months now was suddenly ripped away from me. I had wasted all my time dreaming and practicing for nothing. It all was worthless.
I silently turned around with my head hung low and, on the verge of crying the whole way, started off towards my first class of the day.
As the day dragged on I started to feel a bit better though. Sure, Mr. Samuels wasn't here to teach me guitar anymore, but he had taught me enough already. Now it was my turn to practice and improve on my own, which I should be more than capable of doing by now. He had already taught me all the basics, and even if he wasn't here to help guide me anymore I still remembered just about everything. It was only a matter of getting my fingers to move into the right places at the right time, and Mr. Samuels couldn't really help me with that. I'd have to do it by myself.
But I should've learned by then that nothing ever works out for me.
After school was over I rushed to the music room with a bit of renewed vigor. When I got there I saw the same old lady sitting the exact same way behind the desk. I confidently walked up to her and said, "Excuse me, do you mind if I play on one of the guitars for a bit?"
She looked up with that strange look on her face again and sternly said, "Those guitars are for the guitar quartet to use."
"I know," I said back, not really understanding what she was saying at the time, "but I'll be careful with them. I've only ever broken a string once, but there are always some extras anyway."
"I don't think you understand," she said back in her very stern voice, "those guitars are to be used only by members of the guitar quartet. And unless you're one of those members you're not allowed to touch one."
It was then that I finally got what she was saying. "But," I argued, "Mr. Samuels always let me…"
"Mr. Samuels isn't here anymore," she barked at me, "I'm the one in charge of the music department now. And nobody except the quartet is allowed to play one of those guitars and that's that."
Then, she lowered her voice a bit and said, "I don't think there are any openings in the group right now, but you're free to check back whenever you like. Besides the three hours of after school lessons per week there's also a twenty-five dollar per week fee. Feel free to discuss it with your parents. Now, run along; school's over for the day."
I had nothing to say back to her. I quickly turned around and started my brisk walk home.
I managed to hold everything in until I got to my bedroom. When my face first made contact with my pillow tears were already beginning to stream from my eyes. This was horrible. Not only was Mr. Samuels not here anymore, but now I had no way of even touching a guitar anymore. I would never be able to feel the happiness I felt while playing again. Everything was gone, and I was devastated. All that time wasted memorizing note names and chord progressions got me what in the end? Nothing, that's what! It was all just some stupid and useless knowledge that I had learned for nothing. It had been a dream of mine to play the guitar for the rest of my life, but now I was getting hit by reality. And oh how I really hated reality. There was nothing left for me to do except cry and finally accept my ultimate defeat. So at that moment I officially gave up on playing the guitar and just kept on crying into my pillow.
As time went on I slowly began to forget all my guitar knowledge and how much I'd enjoyed playing it. I had more important things to worry about in my life than how to play an instrument I would never be able to touch for a long time. But even as the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years I still had this hope stashed somewhere deep within my head that one day I would be able to pick up another guitar and continue on learning. It never made itself very apparent, but I always knew it was there. That is, until that fateful day.
As I watched the other Animorphs scurry out of the Yeerk pool complex from the safety of my high perch playing guitar wasn't exactly the focus of my thoughts. In fact, it took about a week or so after that for me to even remember anything related to playing a guitar. But even then it was far from the first thing on my mind. I finally got around to realizing what my musical fate would be about a month or so after the Animorph's first mission, after I'd had enough time to figure out and accept everything that was going on in my crazy life. I knew that this was going to be the final and absolute nail in the coffin. There was no way a hawk could even remotely attempt to play a guitar, so I finally put a period on guitar playing once and for all; or so I had thought.
My life has been full of surprises, and while I was getting dragged away by that raccoon out in the middle of nowhere the Elimist decided to give me another. I didn't know it at first, but eventually I would be able to become a human once again.
As you might have already guessed, playing the guitar wasn't the first thing on my mind after that either. But, subconsciously I had removed the period that I had put after playing the guitar in my mind and replaced it with a comma. I don't think I ever really thought about it again, but in the dark recesses of my mind there was the tiniest glimmer of hope. And I didn't know it at the time, but that hope was just waiting to explode out at the slightest chance; and it was going to prove it soon enough.
One day I just happened to be flying over an old scrapyard (don't ask why, long story) when something caught my eye. I glanced around at the various piles of junk quickly, but I didn't really see anything. I continued to fly on, but something told me take a closer look. And once I did I saw something that I would've never expected. Sticking out of a large pile of scrap wood was what appeared to be the neck of an acoustic guitar.
So many things rushed back into my brain at that moment that I just had to go and take a closer look. I didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day anyway, so I had plenty of time to kill. After scoping the area out for any people and finding none I quickly dove on down and began to morph to my human form.
Once I had finished I walked up to the protruding neck and gave it a quick inspection. I couldn't tell from the air if it was just a neck or the whole guitar, but even with my weak human eyes I could see it clearly from this distance. There was more of the guitar buried underneath layers of scrap wood.
And so I got to work trying to dig it out. After removing tons of broken strips and sheets of wood (along with getting a couple dozen splinters) I was finally able to pull the entire guitar free from the pile.
It was in rough shape that was for sure. The body had tons of holes and dents ranging in size from small to I didn't really need another sound hole. There were only two strings left intact (but I had expected as much) and the neck seemed to be bowed a good bit as well. But even though it looked pretty bad that didn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't play good. I gently strummed one of the strings that was still there and the guitar sounded just fine to me. In fact, even playing only on one string brought back so many memories that I couldn't help but lose myself in it. This was one of the greatest discoveries I had ever made, but it was obvious that it still needed some work.
After reliving my childhood for some time I eventually formed a plan to fix up the guitar so I could truly use it. And it all started with finding a good place to keep it.
I couldn't bring it to my own meadow because I was afraid of what Ax would say. I knew that he hated music and I had never told him that I could play an instrument. Plus, I had no way to get it out to my field. I was a good twenty miles away and the only way I could reasonably carry it was in my human morph. That's a long way to walk through the dense forest without shoes. And not to mention that there was a barbed wire fence running around the scrapyard and the gate had all but rusted closed by now. The only sensible place to keep the guitar was inside the scrapyard, and that's where it was going to stay.
After I had found a good place for it (living out in nature will teach you how to hide things really good) I demorphed and took off towards my meadow. I needed to pick up some money.
I had a small stash of around fifty dollars or so that I'd been collecting ever since I saw my first dollar flying by in the wind. You never know when you'll need some extra money. Usually I just spent it on Rachel or me and Ax would sometimes grab a meal at the mall, but I always had a bit extra for emergencies. And I would qualify this as an emergency.
Luckily I hadn't seen Ax around when I landed in my meadow. I didn't want to tell him what I was up to, but if he asked why I was taking some money then I couldn't lie to him. He was my shorm and I took it just as seriously as he did. If he asked then I would've told him in a heartbeat, but I wasn't going to tell him if he didn't ask. And since I didn't see him around I was in the clear.
Once I had uncovered my secret stash I pulled out a twenty dollar bill, covered my hiding place back up, clutched the crumpled bill in one of my talons, and took off towards the music store.
I had never been there personally, but I've flown over it a few times before. It looked like it would have everything I needed. So when I got close I flew behind an adjacent store and began to morph to human.
I tried to walk in calmly and casually, but my clothes weren't really helping me stay anonymous as I would've liked. A tight t-shirt with an even tighter pair of short shorts wasn't exactly the most flattering outfit I ever wore, but at least I wasn't naked. But I did wish that I at least had some shoes…
But I was able to find the things that I was looking for and get out of there without too many problems. I picked up, among other things, a new pack of strings and a few guitar picks. I walked out with a small bag of various parts and pieces, but I wasn't ready to go back yet. I still wanted to stop by the hardware store.
Unfortunately, the closest hardware store was across town. I couldn't fly over the town with a bag in my talons since that would be way too dangerous. The only option I had was to walk across town. And without shoes and in my current outfit it wasn't going to be fun. But I grit my teeth and started walking.
I finally made it to the hardware store after only getting a few laughs and stares on the way. Inside the store I picked up a few sheets of sandpaper, a small bottle of varnish, and another small bottle of wood glue among a few other small things. The cashier gave me a really funny look but he eventually rung me up and I raced out of there as fast as I could.
Now, there was the problem of getting my little bundle of supplies back to the scrapyard. I didn't really have any other choice except to fly it there, so after I wandered into the woods as far as my poor feet would take me I began to demorph. I knew that it wasn't going to be the smartest thing to do, and looking back on it now it was a stupid risk to take, but I was distracted at that moment by all my past memories of playing the guitar. Plus, I knew how to avoid the small towns and communities on the way and I had a good idea of where the most common bird watching spots were, so I thought I could handle it.
Once I had finished demorphing I took both of the handles of the plastic bag in my beak (my talons would've probably just ripped it to shreds). I tried to lift off once, but the bag was heavier than I'd thought. I tried again with a bit more effort and I finally got off the ground and up into the air. One thing was for sure though; the flight back was going to be even less fun than my walk to the hardware store.
And boy was I right. The bag was heavy enough as it was, but it also acted like a big parachute which made it almost impossible to fly. I was overjoyed when I saw the scrapyard come back into view. Both my wings were burning like hell by the time I finally reached it and landed.
But once I had demorphed my focus shifted to something more important, starting to fix my new guitar.
I first started to play it once I had all the new strings tightened and somewhat tuned, but over the next few months I began to make some slight improvements. By the time I was done it sounded and played great, but to be honest it didn't look all that good. That was mostly due to the makeshift patches I had glued into place, but looks weren't that important now. I was just happy that I had a guitar to play on again.
Everything I had previously learned came back to me real fast. In no time I was back to playing at the level I had been before I left Mr. Samuels. I still remembered all the old songs he taught me and I played them all the time. But that was becoming sort of a problem. I had played them so much that after a few months they became boring. And without someone to teach me some new songs I had nothing new to learn. Sure, improvising was fun, but sometimes I needed something solid and structured to play. Whenever I flew over the beach or by a store with a radio I would always try to listen in for something that caught my interest. A few songs did and I taught myself most of them, but a lot of the time they were hard to hear over the other commotion going on. And the few songs that I was able to teach myself weren't enough to keep me interested for long, so I needed something more.
That's when I got an idea. How about I make my own songs. It couldn't really be that hard, could it? I already had a few different chord progressions that I liked and played regularly so all I needed were some words. The next time I got my hands on my guitar I began to go to work.
The melody and chord progressions were relatively easy to come up with, but when I got to the lyrics portion I hit a wall. At first I didn't even know what my song should be about. And even when I finally picked a topic it was hard for me to come up with some lyrics. They just didn't seem to flow out like I thought they would. I tried and I tried, but I kept getting nothing. Frustrated, I abandoned the idea.
That is, until today. My perfect day with Rachel had inspired me. I had a good topic and I even had a few lines to start with already formulated. I was just going to let the rest hopefully flow out and see what happened.
Thinking back on my beautiful day with Rachel made me realize how much I couldn't live without her. And that got me thinking about the first time we …um… I guess "came out" to each other would be the best way to put it. If that never happened then things would probably be very different today. And what better place to start off with my first song than the beginning of our love for one another. I could then always go forward in time from there and before I'd know it I'd have a whole musical suite to play for her about her. But I was getting ahead of myself. I had to make sure that I could write this one first.
I eagerly landed (clumsily since the moon and stars didn't give enough light) and I quickly began to demorph. I made my way over to where I had hid the guitar and pulled it out of its hiding spot. After making sure it was somewhat in tune I began strumming a few chords. And before I knew it I started to sing.
We've been through a lot together,
So many nasty things,
But we can't keep this up forever,
Our love was going to take wing.
Now I don't know if I could live without you,
What would life be like then,
And I don't know what I'd do to,
Feel the way I do now again.
It's been so long, you can agree,
But when I'm with you and you're with me,
Everything will be alright,
And we'll still be together throughout the night.
If it ends tomorrow that'd be fine,
As long as you say you'd still be mine,
I wish that you could see,
That you're everything to me.
I wish that I could tell you for real,
Just how much you mean to me,
I've been longing to tell you how I feel,
So I could set myself free.
I'd been so nervous, I didn't know what to do,
Just how to tell you what I feel inside,
But you made it easy, it was you, who,
Said you'd always be by my side.
It's been so long, you can agree,
But when I'm with you and you're with me,
Everything will be alright,
And we'll still be together throughout the night.
If it ends tomorrow that'd be fine,
As long as you say you'd still be mine,
I hope that you could see,
That you're everything to me.
We've been through a lot together,
So many nasty things,
But we can't keep this up forever,
Our love has taken wing.
I don't know if I could live without you,
What would life be like then,
And I don't know what I'd do to,
Feel the way I do now again.
It's been so long, you can agree,
But when I'm with you and you're with me,
Everything will be alright,
And we'll still be together throughout the night.
If it ends tomorrow that would be fine,
As long as you say you'd still be mine,
I'm glad that you could see,
That you're everything to me.
Wow, I said to myself, that was really good. I have to write that down. So I started to search for something I could write with and something I could write on before I forgot everything. After fumbling around in the darkness for a while I finally found a scrap piece of cardboard from the paper pile (kind of obvious really) and I also found a dried marker in the glove compartment of one of the rusting cars. I gave the marker tip a good lick to get it moist again (it tasted just like you'd expect) and I got it to write once again.
After writing down everything I could remember I reread it back in the dim moonlight and started to make a few changes. After playing around with a few of the words I finally had something that I was pretty proud of. It still needed some work here and there, but coming up with all that from basically nothing in such a short time was quite a feat. I made a few more changes before my hype began to wear down and my sleepiness seriously began to show through. It was way past the time I usually went to bed and I'd already had an exhausting day. I decided to give everything a rest for the night and come back another day to finish it. Once it was done I would show it to Rachel. Well, one day. Maybe one day…
Alright, I'm very curious to know what you think. Not just about the story, but the idea of sticking a song in there and what you think about the song itself. It's really the first song I ever came up with by myself, so any feedback on the subject would be nice; especially on the lyrics. As you probably guessed I modeled Tobias' songwriting strategy on my own, so lyrics are hard for me to come up with. I keep thinking that these are too cliche and generic, but I wonder what everyone else thinks. And don't go too hard on the recording. For a ten dollar Wal-mart mic, a crappy acoustic guitar, a free copy of audacity, and a very small amount of patience I think it came out alright.
And, if enough people like this idea, I have another song that's all but done being recorded. As soon as I finish up a few minor touches I'll start writing a "sequel". And I've also got a third idea that's somewhat sort of written... kinda... The thing about the third one is that I'm thinking about using something more than just an acoustic guitar. I could physically play all the instruments myself and record it that way, but that would be the least practical way of doing it. What I had in mind is using a midi track to simulate a guitar, bass, and drums. If anyone has any serious experience with midi and knows some good programs/"sounds" that I could get for free or otherwise (I'm not above bending the rules a bit if you know what I mean) then I would welcome your help. Send me a pm or an email or something if you could help. More on the third idea to come after the second one is posted and based on any replies I get from the audience.