Like a good tactician, Caraway chose to play his cards wisely.
For the succeeding days, he visited Julia even if she chose to ignore him. Julia spent the rest of her days sleeping. She rarely ate the meals served for her.
For Caraway, he knew he was putting an inferior triple triad card beside a stronger card. Her indifference was strong, he admitted. But for him, patience was a virtue. Fury would do his best to exhaust his virtue, because time was gold.
His patience was rewarded one afternoon when he taunted Julia with her unfinished composition. Fury knew she was awake even if she hid herself beneath the covers. "You're an excellent songwriter." He nonchalantly uttered.
Julia removed the blankets covering her. "Where did you get that?" she coldly asked him. She knew he was referring to composition, and she knew she never told him about it.
"Somewhere out there." There was no need to tell her that he forced Hugo to retrieve any document that involved Laguna. "It's unfinished though. Do you have any plans of finishing it?"
"I don't want to finish it."
"A pity," he commented as he flipped through the pages. "I'm sure he would have loved to hear this."
"He won't and he never will. I-I don't want to finish that song. It hurts me."
"Does it?" Caraway took his pocket lighter, lit it and placed the papers near the tiny flame. "Then I suppose it wouldn't hurt you if I burned this right, will it?"
He was startled when Julia shot from her bed and snatched the partly burned paper. Sobbing, Julia clutched the paper in her hand, trying to stop the flame from devouring it
"I never gave you permission to burn this." She glared at him.
"I didn't think you cared enough." He shrugged his shoulders. "After all, what is the worth of an unfinished song? It's worthless. The purpose of a song is to be sung and heard. If you don't want to finish it, I might as well give it the death it deserves."
"You have no right!" Julia screamed.
"To destroy your song?" he arched his brow. "I'm merely burning a representation of your thoughts. Thoughts can be reproduced. I could burn this paper and you could produce another one tomorrow. If you wanted to, that is. However, you chose to abandon it. Now, tell me Julia, didn't you destroy the song itself when you intentionally left it unfinished?
She gaped at him as she tried to comprehend the meaning of his words. Slowly, she sunk to the floor, not wanting to see Caraway, realizing how horribly she treated him and Hugo. Julia felt a familiar sting in her eyes.
Caraway crouched beside her. "If you have no love for this song anymore, then give it to me."
"No", Julia whispered. "I can't."
"You will."
"Never."
Carefully, he cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tear-stained cheeks. "Then finish the song. For his sake. For the song Laguna wanted to hear. It's the only way you can give justice to his memory."
"Fury, I…. I…." she stammered. For the first time in weeks, she felt unsure of herself. What was the reason that she locked herself in her world? What was the reason why she stopped composing? What was the reason why she withdrew from everybody? Questions flooded her mind. Questions that she knew she was currently unable to process.
Caraway said nothing and chose to embrace her instead as she wracked with tears and pain.
It was past midnight when Julia blinked her eyes open. Caraway was nowhere in sight. Lying on her bed, she reflected on the past events and of her future. She was tired of crying and of being hurt. She wanted to rise from the pain. I need a Phoenix Down for my soul.
It had been weeks since Laguna's disappearance. As much as she wanted to relive her memories with him, Julia knew she couldn't live in the past forever. She wanted to live. She wanted to fulfill her dream. She wanted to write songs. She wanted to be a singer. Julia had come to an important decision. Tomorrow will be different.
The next day, the bellboy called Hugo's attention. "Sir, she ate the food we served her."
A smile crossed his lips. His Julia was recovering. Despite his distaste for Caraway, Hugo had to admit the General cared for her…in a sick and twisted way.
He was about to leave his office when the door opened. Julia greeted the bellboy and ignored the curious glance he gave her. She knew she had lost a bit of weight. Okay, "bit" was an understatement. She had lost weight.
"I'm glad to see you're back." He appraised her. "It looks like I have to fatten you up."
"I look horrible." She frankly told him.
"You do."
Unable to control themselves, they giggled.
Two months had passed since Julia found her will to live. She had finished her composition and had sent several tapes to various producers. To her great sadness, all she received were rejection letters.
"Why the long face, dear?" Hugo asked her, noticing the sadness that reflected in her eyes.
"I've submitted my song to several producers… they don't like it."
"You know what? You should let me hear your song. You've already submitted it to several producers, and yet I've not heard it."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"I will only accept your apology if you play and sing your song for tonight's show. It wouldn't hurt to play your song for free, right?"
Julia felt her heart thump strongly. Julia knew she had nothing to lose. She wanted to sing her heart out. Why was she stopping herself?
She agreed to Hugo's condition, despite the fear that tightly gripped her. As she pressed the first piano keys, she leaned her lips closer to the microphone.
"Whenever I sang my songs
On the stage on my own
Whenever I sang my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, Just once more
My last night here with you
Maybe Yes, Maybe No
I kind of liked it Your way
How you shyly placed your Eyes on Me
And did you ever know?
That I had mine on you?
Darling so there you are
With that look on your face
As if You never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure?
If a frown is shown then you will know that you are not dreaming
So let me come to you
Close as I want to be
Close enough for me
To feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your Eyes on Me
And did you ever know?
That I had mine on you
Silent tears poured as she sang and played her piano. It didn't matter whether she had few viewers, nor that those producers gave her rejection slips. What mattered was she was fulfilling her dream and promise to him.
"I know your song will definitely touch a lot of people's hearts!"
Her head snapped to hear a loud applause. Oh my. The room was surprisingly full! She trembled as she heard the murmurs among the crowd.
"That was such a lovely song!"
"I cried!"
"So she can actually sing and play the piano?"
"Who composed the song?"
Hugo stood up and acknowledged everyone. "Thank you for you applause. I am sure you are pleased to know that Ms. Julia Heartilly was missing for several months due to….a personal problem. But I'm glad that she's back. Mind you that she personally composed this song and you are the first ones to hear it!"
The crowd broke into further applause. Julia smiled and entertained several guests. She went to the comfort room to escape when she bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry."
"Oh no, the pleasure is mine."
She looked up to see a curious man gaze at her. He had brown hair, wearing a black tux. He was immaculately clean.
"I happened to pass by and heard you sing. I heard you composed the song yourself?"
Julia nodded. "Yes. It's my…first song."
"It's a lovely song. A sad one, albeit. Have you approached producers to publish your it?"
She shook her head. "I've approached some.. well, they didn't like it."
"They must have been deaf to hear such brilliance." He handed her his business card. "My name is Duke Timberland. I'm a record producer and I would like to collaborate with you."
Julia gulped. She found it hard to believe. "I… Is this real?"
"Want me to pinch you softly but sure?" he teased as he quoted the lyric of her song.
For the first time in months, Julia felt genuine laughter swell within her. "I believe you Mr. Duke."
"Call me Duke." He smiled. "I'm glad I came here tonight. Hugo told me his friend was playing and that I should definitely hear it. Told me it would 'change my life'. Turns out he was right!"
When Duke left, Julia stared at his business card. How could she thank Hugo? As she closed her eyes, she imagine he was in front of her. This is the start, Laguna. My song will touch people, just as you told me.
Note:
I apologize if I haven't posted last week. I had several personal and work-related problems that week, plus, I failed to create buffer chapters. When April 5 came, I was like "holy cow! Chapter 10 is still unpolished!"
I wanted to make up to the readers following this story. What if I published 2 chapters on April 12? Sadly, as of this date, I have yet to write Chapter 11 (though I have written about 3 paragraphs for it!)
This was supposed to be part of Chapter 9, but that chapter was too long. I cut and created another chapter about Julia promising herself to move on with her life and publish her song. The producer, Duke Timberland, was just a random idea I thought while I waited at a meeting. I think it was a good idea too! I've made some changes to the lyrics, and I know I haven't posted its entirety.
I admit I find it difficult to write this fic since I was beginning to lose interest. I knew it was a normal thing. I've had a lot of projects buried under the graveyard just because I procrastinated and lost interest in it. The only paths available for me to take were: 1.) Quit and 2.) Continue the project!
The initial draft involved Fury singing the song to taunt Julia. Then I wanted him to sing and play it with a garage band app on his tablet.. then as I rewrote the draft. I wanted him to destroy it, the same way he burned the love letter. I chose last option.
I'm creating a schedule so that I can actually work on the fic daily. I have 30 minutes to write. So why not write?
Stay tuned for the next chapter! Happy reading!