The forever piece
Chapter 14: Sing
I can't believe singing on my own would be this hard. Soul had bashed me repeatedly for not daring to sing on my own. It just felt plain weird to be singing as much as Soul and I did. With him being a former singer it was plain weird being coached by him but that the same time it felt good. Soul would be there on stage with me since he would be playing the piano. I trained hard in order to be able to sing on my own but the pleasure of singing was never there.
Soul he always sung in the shower and sometimes he could just be walking around singing when he was bored. I never felt that pleasure of need of singing like that.
Liz took her job way too serious. She made the event huge, like, event of the year huge! People talked about it everywhere. There were debates about the things we put up on the internet about her and her songs. People talked about it everywhere and it just grew bigger and bigger to my surprise. The thing that surprised me the most is that me singing an unreleased song by my mother seems to be the peak of the event. It is good news to my friends but very bad news for me. This means everybody will be watching me and it feels like I won't be able to breathe. The only person I have sung to is Soul and that was hard already.
The day came and I couldn't be more than nervous, actually petrified. I knew the whole lyrics of the song Soul and I wrote by heart. I'm not worried about forgetting the lyrics, the thing is singing in front of people is what I am having trouble with. This is something I have to do for my mother, I need to sing today.
My reflection looks back at me while Liz combs my hair. "You look absolutely stunning." Liz says while she starts braiding my hair. "I got the designer to make a similar dress to Kami's, you know, the one she had on the cover of her CD." I smile sadly toward Liz in the reflection in the mirror as she keeps braiding my hair. "Since you are Kami's daughter, it is better for you to look similar to Kami but not wear her exact attire. We want people to tell you apart but I have to admit it is pretty hard since you look a lot alike. Blond hair and inhumanly green eyes."
Tears trickle down my cheeks and immediately I wipe them away.
Liz puts the finishing touches on my hair by putting a red rose behind my ear in order to keep all of my hair on the other side. "You look absolutely beautiful." Liz rests my hands on my shoulders. She smiles gently toward me in the reflection of the mirror. "I did the right thing by using waterproof makeup. I had a feeling a lot of tears would be shed today."
I can't help but to cry. Ten years have passed but it feels like it took place a week ago. The wounds are still very much raw but I know how to handle them. The years of going around without a mother are hurtful but my papa has been very supportive and there is no way I can express how grateful I am.
If I could, I would complement Liz's work. I look absolutely gorgeous with the simple waterproof makeup along with the dress. I look like my mother but at the same time not. The nose in my hair breaks off the connection between me and her and brings out the ruby on my engagement ring.
There is a light rap on the door. Liz yells for the person to enter and I see Spirit and Soul enter the dressing room. Spirit wears a white and black suit and Soul wears a red and black one. It is quite similar to the one he wore when we went to a ball together, but this one doesn't have the white strips on it.
"Maka," Spirit says and walks up to me and wraps his arms around me. "I'm very proud of you." He whispers into my ear while he rubs my back. "Your mother is very proud of you. Do you best as you always do. Whatever you do I will always be proud of you." A faint smile plasters my face as I hug my papa. He truly is the best father there is. No one could ever replace him. He is my wonderful papa.
Spirit pulls away from me so he can caress my shoulders. "You look so beautiful. You look like your mother." His hand then comes to caress the rose in my hair and he smiles weakly. "She always used to put flowers in your hair when you were a baby. When she took her breaks from making her music, she went outside into the garden and made you a wreath made of flowers. You would happily run around with it on your head."
I do not recall such a memory unfortunately. I must have been too young to remember it. I do remember all the times when I would play in the garden and she would stand by the door frame and just watch me with that perfect gentle smile of hers.
"It is soon time for you to go on stage." Soul says from behind my father. Spirit backs away so Soul can have access to me. "Kilik will be announcing about your silence promise so they won't bug you with questions afterward. I told them if they want to know more about your mother or about the piece, then they will have to contact us tomorrow." I nod understandingly while Soul grabs my hand.
It had been very difficult for Soul and I the last weeks before the event. Journalists from different papers along with film crews had been thirsting for information about the song I would be singing and the mystery about my mother. Soul had a very hard time keeping them off of our property but somehow he managed.
"You are going to do great." Soul says while he helps me up from the chair. "Just do as we have practices and you will be fine." Soul holds my hand and I smile tiredly toward him before I nod.
We exit the dressing room and the unbearable walk toward the stage begins. Every single person we walk pass wishes me good luck and with each step I take, my heart beats faster. My fingers tingle nervously and I start to panic. What if they don't like the song? What if I freak out and don't end up singing at all? I know I need to do this in order to make my mother proud but this is making me feel anxious and weak.
"Hey," Soul stops us and he cups my face. "I can see you are freaking out. You are going to do great and I know maybe saying that doesn't ease your nerves." Soul strokes my cheeks with his thumbs soothingly. "I was always nervous for every perform I did. I'm even nervous now." I must have looked confused since Soul chuckles while his hands wander down to my waist. "Yeah. I always get nervous but don't let your own concerns weight you down." Soul then grabs my hand and starts dragging me away. "Come, it is time to warm up your vocal cords." Soul opens a door and we sneak inside of what proves to be a janitor closet. "We are alone. It is just so and me, now give me a tone."
It is hard to "just give him a note" because of my silence promise toward my mother. I haven't broken it in years and now I am supposed to sing. Hopefully I won't mess the song up. I take a deep breath before I shakily give Soul a note. Soul washes compliments over me how great I am and keep asking for more notes until I take the notes with confidents. When Soul takes it I am ready we walk out of the closet and toward the stage. There waits Liz with their baby in her arms, Kid with Amber standing right in front of him, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Chrona and Patty. I see Kilik on stage with the microphone in his hand.
"I want all of you to respect that this is the anniversary of Kami Albarn and Maka Albarn has this ritual every year when she stays completely silence on this day. She is to only sing this song for you to then return to be quiet. I know a lot of media already know this but I will repeat, Maka won't answer any questions whatsoever and so won't Soul. If you want an interview then it will happen on a different day." Kilik explains while he put back the microphone on the stand. Next to him stand a grand piano where Soul will be seated and playing. "Now, I give you Maka Albarn." Kilik walks down from the stage and smiles toward me. "Show them who Maka Albarn truly is."
There are rounds of applauds and wolf whistles. I give Kilik a warm smile before I inhale deeply and loudly and I take a step up on the stairway to the stage. Soul squeezes my hand while we walk up on the stage. The spotlights blind my vision and I can barely make out the thousands upon thousands of people in the audience. It doesn't help that the flashes from the camera blinds me some more. Soul squeezes my hand. "You are ready for this." Soul says before he releases my hand and takes a seat in front of the piano. He flashes me a confident smirk and I can't help but give a shaky smile back.
My heart is beating in my throat and it feels like it is going to jump out of my mouth. Nervously I stand in front of the microphone and I can barely make out the outlines of a woman and a camera directed toward her. "We are now going to hear Kami Albarn's daughter Maka Albarn sing a piece she finished for her mother. The music is made by Kami Albarn and the lyric is made by Maka Albarn and Soul Evans. The song she will be singing is called "Forever."" The news lady says to the camera before it is directed toward me.
Soul's fingers hit the keys of the piano and a soft melody fills the stage and the audience. The audience grows silence, as like enchanted by the magical tunes of the piano. Soul keeps playing the intro and my heart only picks up its pace. He hits a key and the tune is drawn out. That is means it is time for me to start singing.
I part my red lips and inhale before I sing the first word. My hands are shaking so badly I have to hold the microphone on the stand in order to prevent them from shaking. I let the words come out of my mouth and it mixes with the tunes of the piano so unbearable sweet, just like my mother. She was always kind and so gently until the very end. She was selfless until the very end.
Sniffles fill the air from the audience and I can hear the rustle of tissues. The audience must be as moved as I am since I can't help but to let tears roll down my cheeks.
Words of kindness toward my mother and story about eternal love are let out there. The song tells them the story about my mother's passion for music and her undying love for my father, how she found her soul mate in the middle of her paddy fields and how she sacrificed everything for that love. The song is my mother's life story, the kindness she always shone and how gentle and strong she was.
I see my father's face in the audience and he smiles wide toward me as tears fall from his eyes. He holds his hands above his heart and the wedding ring around his finger sparkles like a star in the darkness. My mother will always be the light in the darkness, the answer to every question in life and the solution to every problem. She always held all the cards in her hands. She is the ideal woman, the kind of person I want to be. I do not wish to be her, I wish for her to be here beside me and holding my hand, for her to be here through the happy moments and the bad ones.
My tears hit the wooden floor of the ground as I keep singing. Soul hits the final key and I draw out a long tune before I close my mouth and remain silent again.
The audience applauds loudly and whistles loudly. They cry out audible and I see people wiping their tears away while I leave my tears untouched to fall freely toward the ground. The audience keeps applauding loudly and I feel content.
My mother's wish has finally come true.
