The next day, around noon, Sophie had just gotten back to the oak tree from the lake when she saw Aiden jump down from his perch in the tree with a yell and run to his violin case. He pulled out his violin in a flash and tightened his bow with a few turns of his wrist. Furiously, he began to bow out a melody that was fierce in its quiet intensity. Sophie listened, enraptured. It was amazing to watch someone react to their sudden inspiration in such a manner. Aiden switched to a lively pizzicato theme, bow bobbing up and down, unused as he plucked away. Then he changed to a loud, sustained note, as if his violin was crying out in heartbreak. He descended three notes and then returned to the first. He repeated this pattern once more before breaking into a jazzy number. Sophie recognized the scale as a blues scale he was improvising on.
Sophie felt a drop of water run down her face. She was soaking! On one hand, she needed to dry off and get changed. On the other hand, she didn't want to interrupt Aiden's musical rampage. She watched him set his violin down and rummage through his backpack for a booklet of blank music paper. He scribbled down a melody, humming it to himself and occasionally snapping his fingers like a metronome so he could figure out the more complex rhythms. Sophie walked to her backpack, keeping an eye on Aiden. He didn't acknowledge her presence until she was walking away.
Aiden shouted after her, "Yes! Of course! Sophie, you're a genius! Thank you! This is perfect!" before burying himself back in his composition.
Sophie was a bit creeped out by Aiden's behavior. First he's a Phantom phan, then he's autistic, then he's a nice guy, then he's all mysterious, and now he's a musical genius. I wish he'd just make up his mind already! I thought girls were supposed to be the complicated ones.
When Sophie returned to the oak tree warm and dry, she saw Katie and Aiden on the picnic blanket. Katie was lying on her back, enjoying the sun, while Aiden was still writing with great concentration. Sophie hung her wet clothes on a low branch to dry and turned around to see Aiden suddenly sit up from his composition. "Alright, I think we've got something here," he said to the girls. "Sophie, get out your guitar. Katie, warm your voice up. I want to try this song out."
The girls complied, Sophie and Aiden tuning their strings to each other while Katie got a sneak peak at Aiden's song. "Aiden, I don't have perfect pitch. I can guess the intervals, but sight-singing isn't my specialty."
Aiden grinned at Katie assuredly, "Don't worry, for the most part, you echo my melody. It shouldn't be too difficult."
The trio gathered around Aiden's score, which was propped up against his backpack. Sophie had to squint to see the chords written for her, but she could manage. Aiden counted the beat, "One, two, three…" and began on the pick-up notes into the melody line.
It was a beautiful tune, not one of the ones Sophie heard Aiden play earlier. He was lucky his injured forearm didn't inhibit his playing. Sophie noted that the chords she was paying were often dominant seventh chords or fifth chords, but she never changed key or went back to the tonic. It was as if the entire song was building up to a huge climax. As Aiden played, the tune became livelier and brighter, morphing away from the solemn melody it once was.
Aiden let his note die out as Katie began to sing.
"The security of night
Its soft veil a shield
From the truth
Where everyone is sleeping
The world calms down
And listens to the sounds of darkness
The sky a deep blue hue
Stars speckled throughout
Like holes in a blanket
This blanket is frayed at the edges
A lightening of sky signals
The end of peaceful night
Soft lilac and warm indigo
Announce the coming of the sun
The evening star has long since gone
A display of pink and red flares
The morning is imminent
The first rays of light burst forth
Piercing the palpable darkness
Light spreads its energy
The sun rises to its throne in the sky
This procession of light
The dawn's colors
Give hope for the new day
That mayhap the day can be endured
With its liveliness and racket
Until darkness once again
Claims the earth."
Sophie was dumbstruck. Aiden had composed an entire song with melody, countermelody, baseline, harmony, and lyrics? Wow, she thought as the song ended. He's amazing.
"Aiden, that was so beautiful!" Katie exclaimed as the song was finished. "I can't believe how talented a composer you are! And lyricist. This song is fabulous!" she hugged Aiden, who was quite surprised by the action.
"Thanks, but this is nothing. I've written loads of songs before. I can't believe you guys actually like it that much." Aiden replied, blushing under all of the attention.
"Have you ever written anything Phantom of the Opera related?" Sophie asked.
Aiden nodded, "I've put quotes from the books to song. I've added songs to the musical, added lyrics to some of the songs, done my own translations into French…"
"You speak French?" Katie asked, interested.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Can we play some of the Phantom stuff you've done?" Sophie asked eagerly.
Aiden shook his head, "I don't have any of that stuff with me."
"Oh," Sophie replied, disappointed. She put her guitar away as Aiden put his violin back.
"Say something in French, Aiden. It's such a dreamy language. I wish I knew it," Katie said, reclining against the trunk of the tree.
"Piano, piano, ma chanson va naître," Aiden sang the tune of 'Music of the Night'. "Cède-lui, fais-lui, succomber ton être. Ose ouvrir ton cœur, laisse au loin tes moindres peurs. Ces ténèbres, on sait que nul ne les combat, ténèbres qui ne chantent que pour toi."
Katie sighed, shutting her eyes as she listened. "That's so beautiful, Aiden. You've a lovely voice."
Aiden made a sarcastic, "Tch!" but didn't say anything otherwise. He paced back and forth, unsure of what to do next. He settled down eventually next to Katie, attempting to steal her iPod away from her. Sophie sat at the opposite end of the blanket, reading a novel. She looked out at the fields of dry grasses, content in the late afternoon sun to laze about with her friends.
This could be your day to review! Please please please review! I haven't gotten a review for a week. :( It makes me sad. BTW, the French Aiden sang some of you might recognize from AngelOfMusic8578's phic 'Child of the Wilderness' which I recommend. I wanted Aiden to sing something in French, but the only French songs I know are Frere Jacques and Le Furet, and those wouldn't quite fit in with what I had in mind. So I hope the Authoress doesn't sue me, since what Aiden sang was more Phantom of the Opera than her actual phic. And since neither of us own Phantom of the Opera, I thought it would be okay. I just wanted to add this footnote-ish thing to clarify the matter. So review, people! Please!