Disclaimer: Non-profit but very therapeutic. Anyone know how I can apply for the rights to write SPD books? I remember MMPR books a long time ago…
Author's Note: Enjoy :)
- -
Album
For the twelfth consecutive week, Dependence was number one on the Billboard charts. The song had rocketed to the coveted spot upon its debut, and the album it later became a part of, her sophomore effort in an on-again-off-again music career, was still flying off the shelves, already one of the best-selling compilations of the year. Loyal Sydney Drew fans had seized a copy the very day it was released, impatient after a three year wait for new material from their favorite idol, but as the songs began broadcasting on the radio, the surprising depth and maturity of her new music drew in a bigger audience in masses. She truly was more popular than ever.
The reason for the growth in her musical artistry was simple—tragedy.
It had happened three months after the defeat of Grumm and the Troobian Empire. She and the other Rangers were raiding the headquarters of a Saurian crime ring, but somehow the Saurians had gotten word of their plans and set up a trap for them. She, Bridge, and Z got out after the first explosion went off. That was because they were assigned to raid the lower floors. Sky was entering from the roof in hopes of catching the ring leader in his offices on the upper level.
He was still up there when the second to fifth explosions went off simultaneously, and the building collapsed in on itself.
For hours they combed through the rubble, and even with twenty search-and-rescuers and Bridge's keen tracking senses, they didn't find Sky until eight hours later.
He was alive, but barely so. He made it to the hospital and then there he lay for over a month, every moment of which she and the other Rangers feared he would never wake up again. The doctors were giving him slim chances of ever emerging from his coma.
It was in Sky's hospital room that she wrote her entire new album. After a week of nightly visits and endless tears, she took to singing to him softly, a weak hope in her heart that she could coax him to return to the waking world. Two songs on her new album were about those visits, and the ever-dimming hope that she refused to let die.
She started bringing a notebook with her to his room, and there at his bedside, she sat composing, shrouded in near-unmanageable emotions at times and the thin, elongated shadows cast by moonlight through a dusty window.
Many of the songs on her new CD were tinged by sadness, by longing, by all the things she'd felt during those dark hours. But Dependence was different. Dependence was a story of their lives, a somewhat frantically woven lyrical tapestry of happier memories she have striven to remember, and which she sang to him as he lay still and silent beside her.
It
was like you saw me but you didn't care
How
could you leave me just standing here?
You
didn't want it but I broke through your walls
The
real you wasn't so bad after all
That song had been so hard to write, not because she couldn't think of lyrics or a tune, but because the memories made her grief so much more acute that she had to stop. After a while she just let the tears blur her vision until she was writing blindly, and she could only hope her writing would be legible later.
You
caught me fast when my hands slipped
Followed
by a meaner quip
I
was proud and so were you
But
by and by we made it through
To
friends and maybe something more
If
you're the one I'm waiting for
Are
you my one last dream come true?
Baby
we'd make something beautiful
Bridge, Z and Jack didn't think it was healthy for her to spend virtually every free moment at the hospital, much as they cared about Sky too. They wanted her to take some time out for herself, and encouraged her to start recording some of the songs she had written. Making the music would be therapeutic, and the work itself would take her mind off her heartache. So, with a leave of absence from SPD, she headed into the recording studio.
The record execs were pleased to have her return, and after looking over her new material, decided they wanted to record and release Dependence first. They were sure it would be a hit. She thought they were after the money, which wouldn't be unusual. She didn't realize that when she wasn't around, everyone would talk and wonder what had become of the Sydney Drew they knew from years before, the one who cared about nothing but being glamorous, popular, and sang songs all about herself. The Sydney they saw now was subdued, a lot more mature, and carried a raw sadness that would undoubtedly show in the music.
In true Sydney Drew fashion, the song was perfected in a record three studio sessions—albeit very long ones—and she had a quick photo shoot for the cover art of the CD. The single was released to the airwaves and was an instant hit. But Sydney gave no interviews and made no appearances. Instead, she made her way to room 802 of Newtech General to share her success with the inspiration behind it.
She played the CD for Sky as she sang softly along, stroking his hair.
Remember
the days when things were easy
And
we could stand on our own
Remember
the ways we'd joke and play
Never
leaving each other alone
But
things changed like seasons pass
And
I knew it'd come to this
If
I lose you I would fall
This
is dependence
Her voice faded sweetly away as the music bled into a haunting instrumental bit, and it was with her tears dribbling down her face and the trill of a violin that he opened his eyes at last.
He seemed a little disorientated at first, and then those beautiful green eyes came to rest on her as he reached to touch her cheek. The tear he wiped away was only replaced by several more.
On her next visit to the recording studio, Sydney positively glowed. She worked with whirlwind energy to finish her album, which now included an upbeat, schmaltzy number at the end about the joys of finding love. She spent a good deal of time writing and rewriting the personal message she would put inside the cover booklet, and when the record finally hit the stores, this was what her fans would find inside:
I dedicate this album to my wonderful friends, Bridge, Jack, and Z; and to my loving fiancé, Sky.
Bridge—your never-ending good humor, empathy, and bright spirit were like beacons in a dark time. I can't express how grateful I am for how well you took care of me in a difficult period. Only you would give me a towel warmer as a comfort device and hope its sheer distraction value would make me forget my sadness for a while. It worked.
Jack—you were a shoulder I could cry on at any time and about anything. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me interrupt your days and for listening to my pain when I knew you had your own to deal with. You truly are a prince among men.
Z—where would I be if it weren't for you beating some sense into my despairing, illogical head when I needed it? You held me up with your unfailing and amazing strength, and helped me along the way to remember my own. I can't say thank you enough, but maybe I can start by not leaving my stuff all over the bathroom.
In the beginning of this message, I thanked God for giving me the inspiration for this album in the form of a six-foot, sometimes surly, sometimes sweet, but always loving man. But now I have to thank Him for not taking that inspiration away from me.
Sky—I love you, baby, with all my heart, mind, and soul. Don't be so reckless next time!
-- Sydney Drew --
