*1893

The past eight years of Satie's life were filled with piano lessons, social pressures, and family problems. After the incident at his 8th birthday party, Satie's parents forced him to attend every social outing. He would not be allowed to leave a filled room until he spoke to at least five people for ten minutes each. Satie did not like this one bit. He didn't have a problem with society; he just didn't like to socialize. He wanted to focus every hour, every fiber of his life to music. When Satie was ten years old, his parents adopted a set of five-year-old twins, Victor and Paulette. They thought that having more children around would help Satie with his "society problem" as they called it.

Puberty hit hard on Satie. His early teenage years were filled with balls and parties. Often, his parents would say, "Dance, Satie!"

Sure, he had taken lessons before, but he found all of his partners superficial and boring. His parents set him up with daughters of very rich families, most of which only cared about the size of their bank rather than the size of their heart.

When Satie was 17 years old, he met the girl that would change his life, Honora Bruyére Pierson. Yes, she was the daughter of a rich family, but she didn't care about that. She loved music as much as Satie did, and when they were together, it was like a perfect match. Satie's parents approved of her, but not of the way their son was acting. His father was pushing him to join the family business and go to law school.

"You need to be able to support your future family, Gabriel."

That was the phrase heard most around the house.

This brings us to the evening of Satie's 18th birthday. The day had been filled with partying, most of which Satie avoided. He had proposed to Honora that morning, and she had accepted. It was close to midnight, and they were sitting before a roaring fire, talking.

"Honora, there's something I must tell you. I'm leaving tonight." Satie announced, whispering.

"What are you talking about? Why? Where?" Honora asked quietly.

"I'm tired of following these silly rules that my family has laid down for me. I want to live on my own terms. I'm going to Paris. There's a small town there called Monmartre. Rumor has it that there are musicians and painters who live there that are free to do whatever they want."

"But what about everything you have here? We're supposed to be married in a matter of months, and you parents are expecting you to run the family business."

"That's just it. I don't want that. Yes, I want to marry you, but I want us to live in a world free from the cruel-heartedness of society. Come with me, Honora."

She agreed, and the two were soon on their way to Monmartre. Satie had packed a few suitcases and had taken out some money the day before and stowed them in a carriage. They drove to Honora's house, grabbed a few of her things, and were soon gone. They had each left a note for their parents, explaining that they had left. They just didn't tell them where they were going.

*The Next Morning

The train pulled up to the station. Satie and Honora were asleep in each other's arms, waiting for the train to Paris. They boarded, excited that, within a few hours, they would be in Monmartre.