I walk up the stairs and as I get closer to Etana's floor I hear the song she's playing. I know the lyrics but I've never heard the singer.
"I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Alleluia"
The voice goes into the Hallelujahs, singing powerfully, a gorgeous voice that I wish I could identify. The Hallelujahs are lilted, sounding more like 'Alleluia'. Whoever the singer is, I'm surprised I've never heard any of the other Avengers playing her music.
"Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia"
I don't want to knock at the door in case she turns the music off. I have a key but I think it would be very rude just to open the door on her.
"Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia"
I think I hear steps, following the music. Is Etana dancing? I know she loves dancing. She told me that herself. I can see her dancing to this.
"There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia"
I never knew she liked this song. I rest my hand on the door, preparing to open the door but I can't, not when the voice goes into the next verse.
"Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia"
I crouch down and rest my back on the door, just listening to the singer, the wonderful, amazing singer.
"You say I took the name in vain
But I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia"
I know the song is finishing, so I stand up and just rest my head to the cold wood. Etana loves music in the way I love art, playing at least eighteen instruments, although I've never heard her sing.
"I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Alleluia"
I unlock the door as the singer goes into the final Hallelujahs. I step in quietly and my mouth drops open. Etana is dancing slowly, moving around the room, eyes closed, arms above her head as she sings in that gorgeous, wonderful voice.
"Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia"
She stops, sways from side to side and her face just goes into a peaceful expression
"That's beautiful."
She starts, her eyes snapping open, arms instantly dropping into a defensive position.
"Steve!"
"Sorry. I…I shouldn't have done that. Where did you learn to sing like that?"
She smiles.
"I always have been able to sing like that. I just…don't."
"Why not? That was beautiful?"
She smiles sadly.
"I gave up singing years ago. But…I recorded the music for this over time, ever since I heard the first version, and was just putting the lyrics into the song. Funny. I remember Bathsheba and David when it first happened. I wasn't exactly the most happy about it."
She leans over to the laptop and presses a button, drags the mouse and I see an oscilloscope trace on the screen. She deletes the last bit, the bit where we were talking and plays it over again, frowning. The music plays as well, and it sounds…amazing.
"How did you do that?"
"I started by recording the drum-beat. Then the other instruments. I wasn't certain I should sing. It's just…I have some sad memories…"
"Who was it?"
"We used to sing all the time. Me and him…"
A man? I instantly feel a flash of jealously.
"He taught me to sing properly and we sang together. I sang at his funeral. And I swore I'd never sing again."
"Why?"
Her eyes look down.
"He took me in when I was just a girl who'd lost her family. He was like a father to me. I haven't sung properly since I was forty-five. Just snatches now and then."
"That long?"
She nods and clicks a few more keys on the computer and the music plays, everything in perfect harmony. She closes her eyes and mouths the words, swaying slightly to the beat.
"Can I have a recording?"
She shrugs.
"I'll burn a CD."
She treats it like it's so off-hand. Worthless. How can she be so derogatory to her own talents?
"You could be a professional singer."
"And you could be a professional artist. I just… I don't sing often. There are too many memories."
She drops her head.
"I…I wanted to see if… I could still sing."
"Etana, it was beautiful."
She smiles shyly.
"Thank you."
A.N. Now, go listen to Leonard Cohen's version of the song. It will send shivers up your spine. And if you've never heard him before, what are you doing reading fanfiction! Get over to a music site and find out what you've been missing!
