~Recitals and Woes~

Part 1: Arrival

As soon as I walked into the doors of the recital place, my papa literally *immediately* ran up to us, almost as if he had been expecting us forever. (To be honest, he probably had.) "Sorry, I failed at giving you directions. I typed in the wrong letter for the address on my phone and I just now realized." He pouted. "Oh, so that's what he wanted." I mused aloud. "What?" My papa asked me confusedly. "Nothing!" I say frantically.

We walk up and down the halls for seemingly an hour until we *FINALLY* find the staircase. We walk up the staircase, and we go down the halls again to try to find the elevator to go up the next floor to the room we need to be in (ugh...). But instead of eventually finding the elevator, we instead find Micah. We walk towards her and see her in her beautiful blue dress. Her back is turned away from us. She probably didn't notice that we were standing there. She almost looks like... A sad pang suddenly hits hard in my chest. Suddenly, Micah turns around and takes notice of us. On noticing us, a small half-smile shows up on her face. Before she can say anything, however, my papa flings himself onto her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!" Micah chuckles softly from inside his embrace, "Likewise." They let go, and I frown a little. Where is the Micah I knew as a kid? Where are you..?? Before I can dwell on the past anymore, however, my papa rather ironically pulls me away from her. "Good luck!" He tells Micah as we walk away. From afar, I see Micah give him a small half-smile and turn away, giving him a simple goodbye gesture with the raise of her hand. I bite my lip. ...My chest still hurts.

Part 2: Recitals

I sat in my seat and watched as Micah came out onto the stage. Watched as she bowed to everyone, and as she smiled while sitting down at the piano seat. Watched as she held her hands above the piano keys, about to play a note. ...The sounds of the piano rang out through the air, at first slowly. My heart sank as I heard it. Please, Micah, I pleaded inside my mind. Please do your best. After all, if she could play the piano good now, she might get even more like the old Micah in the future. And just as I had thought it, Micah closed her eyes and concentrated after the first few notes. And then she started again, holding her hands above the keys.. and then a flurry of notes, along with all the emotion hidden behind them. rang out loudly in the air as she played. My heart beat rapidly. Yes, Micah. I think to myself. Keep on going! The notes and the songs seem to go on and on forever, but soon, after what seems like an eternity, it is eventually over. Micah stands up and bows while we all clap. Then she walks off the stage. As we walk away from the recital room to go get some refreshments, my face clouds over. My chest burns, and my thoughts are troubled. Sure, she did *very* good... but does she know of why?

Part 3: After Recital