Be With You (2 page)

 
She felt a
tinge of disappointment. She walked around the school and found herself along
the corridor of which all the special rooms were.

 
In the
piano room, she saw a forlorn figure sitting by the piano, with a look of
melancholy. She took a closer look and found that he had resembled Danny.

 
She pushed
the door gently.

 
“ It’s
you Danny!”

 
He looked
shocked to see her. She would never forget the look on his face. He had turned
almost pale white.

“ Hi
Adelie
. Why are you here?”

He asked.
His face clearly showing of concern.

“Why are you not in class, Danny?”

“I was excused from class,
Adelie
”

He said. She
wondered why he had been excused.

Adelie
walked
towards the piano. She didn’t know where she had learnt that tune but it had
always stayed in her mind. She played it on the piano, though she could hardly
read a musical note at all. It was a simple melody which she knew by heart.

Danny
placed his fingers onto the piano keys and then he started to play as well. His
music sounded vaguely familiar, until she realized that it sounded like an
accompaniment to her piano piece. They placed in unison- with their 4 hands,
and came to the same dramatic ending of the piece together.

Adelie
stared
at Danny in astonishment.

“You know the accompaniment to that! I had never known
that there was an accompaniment to it!”

 
She got so
excited that she gave Danny a hug, before blushing, and pulling away.

 
It always
felt so easy to be around him.

 
Adelie
felt a sense of awkwardness. She got up and
pretended to look at the theory books around her.

 
What had
made her do that?

“
You know you're
in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your
dreams.”

?
Dr.
Seuss

Chapter 3

The Marathon

 
February 16
^th
2010-
Adelie
had been selected to take part in an intra-school
marathon. She would be competing against all the students from schools around
her vicinity. It was a day which she had been looking forward to and had been
training so hard for.

 
She was feeling so nervous about the
race. The prizes were all sponsored by Nike: the First Prize would be a
badminton racket, the second prize would be a haversack, and the third prize
would be a pair of shoes.
Adelie
knew that if she
were to clinch for the third position, she would get the shoes, and she
wouldn’t need to trouble Danny anymore.

 
She awoke that Monday morning feeling the
excitement within her. She knew that Danny would be coming soon to bring his
shoes over to her. He was always so punctual.

 
She decided to go have a wash first.

 
When
Adelie
returned, she saw no Danny by the window but instead there were a pair of shoes
on the ledge.

 
She stood a step closer and realized that
they were brand new. There was also a small note beside it which had read ‘A Present
For
Your Race’.

 
The uneasy feeling crept to her. Where
was Danny? Why wasn’t he here? Why had he given her a pair of new shoes?

 
She felt so unsettled and a wave of
anxiety hit her.

 
Nevertheless, she knew that she had to go
for her race right now. She tried hard not to think about it, put on the new
pair of shoes, and trudged along the winding path to the start of the race.

 
Fourth Avenue Road had been thronged with
people all morning. There were boys and girls- around
Adelie’s
age. They had been doing their warm-ups, stretching their calves and their
arms. Everyone had been so geared up for the race. There were Milo trucks
around and cheerleaders were doing their pre-race routines.

 
She found her peers and together they
joined the rest at the starting line. She couldn’t help but feel lost and
confused. She had taken part because she had wanted to win the pair of shoes.
But now that she had them, there wasn’t much of a point any longer. It felt as
if all the determination in her had been drained. Most importantly, where was
Danny? Why hadn’t he appeared that morning? She had told him about the race and
he had assured that he would bring her the shoes. For an instance, she felt the
fear of losing Danny.

 
The more
Adelie
ran, the more confused she felt. She ran along the meadows, along the canal and
passed by all the paths which she had never taken before. Yet, she seemed to
know exactly where she was going.

 
She felt a light tap on her shoulder.
Taken aback,
Adelie
turned around.

 
It was Danny.

 
He was clad in a sporty outfit and he
looked as if he was one of the participants.

“Hi
Adelie
, I have taken part in the race as well”

“Danny,
where were you this morning? Why have you given me a pair of new shoes?”

“I
had to arrive early for a briefing. My parents had bought me a pair of new
shoes. I decided to give them to you”

“You
shouldn’t have…”

“
Adelie
, we shouldn’t be lagging behind. Let’s go”

 
They had
ran
past the gardens and the meadows. The flowers were in full bloom.
Tulips, sunflowers and daisies.
It was such a sight to
behold. All of these had seemed so surreal to her.

 
“Come on
Adelie
,
last stretch to the finish!”

 
It was the final stretch. There were just
10 meters to the Finish Line. The crowd had cheered on for them.

 
He held onto her wrist and he geared her
towards the end. She felt herself drifting forward as if it were a dream
..
She had finished the race in 1
^st
place
..

 
The crowd had gathered around her and
offered their praises.
Adelie
was so overwhelmed.
Without Danny, she wouldn’t have won the race.

 
“Danny”

 
She was just about to find Danny when she
realized he was no longer there. Again, the happiness within her had crept to
fear
..
Where was Danny again? She shouldn’t have won
by right
..
He had pulled her forward
..
he
was supposed to be the 1
^st
.. So where
was he?

 
She had been crowned as the Grand Winner
of the race. They had presented the medal to her and
Adelie
had to go up on the stage to give her speech.

 
She felt tears brimming in the corner of
the eyes. Overwhelmed by the
race
..her
thoughts…Danny…

 
“I would like to thank Danny
..
Without him, I wouldn’t have won this…”

 
She looked around for Danny in the crowd.
He wasn’t there. She took a bow, received her prize, and headed back home. She
thought she had heard a faint melody in the air…

“
We
love the things we love for what they are.”

?
Robert Frost

Chapter 4

Answers

 
Day by day, she
sat by the window ledge. She waited for Danny to come by, but he had never
came
. Soon, autumn had arrived. Looking from her ledge, she
could see that the fallen leaves had formed into a heap outside her house. The
weather was turning cold and
Adelie
wrapped herself
in a warm blanket.

 
Then, she remembered. He had told her
that he had stayed behind her house, remember? She felt so inspired,
then
she changed into her warm clothing, and headed to look
for him.

 
Where exactly had he meant by staying
behind her house? There was a cluster of houses behind her. It was autumn and
not a single person was in sight along the alley.

 
She peered into the windows of the
houses. No sign of Danny. She knocked onto the doors of every unit there and
she asked if Danny had stayed inside. No, they said. Then they asked for his
full name, so they could ask around for him. She said she didn’t know. Then,
she walked away. If Danny didn’t stay there, why did he tell her that he did?
Why didn’t she even know his full name?

 
She looked at the brown leaves filling
the sidewalk. They looked as crestfallen as her. Was there really no hope of
finding Danny anymore?

 
She thought she had heard a faint piano
melody in the background
..
the
melody which had always stayed with her..
ever
since
she had known that she had existed..
it
had followed
her..
haunted
her..
and
it was now possessing her..

 
She followed her heart and it was not
before long that she had reached that
school
..where
Danny had enrolled…

 
It was a heavy step… when she stepped
into it.

 
Not a single soul in sight. It was cold,
dark and gloomy. The hallways were poorly lit. There was dust everywhere as
Adelie
walked towards the piano room
..

 
She had closed her eyes as she walked
there. She hoped that when she had opened them, Danny would appear right before
her. He would be sitting by the piano, with the same melancholic look he had.
She would then sit by his side, and play the piano with her
..

 
One
step
..two
steps…eight steps..

 
She had reached. She felt a
tinge
of fear to open her eyes. She took a deep breath.

But he wasn’t there.

 
She stood by the old wooden piano and sat
by it. She played by the same melody which she had always known
..

 
She noticed a wooden cupboard by the corner
of her eyes. For some reason, it had compelled her to move towards it
..

 
Adelie
walked
towards the cupboard and she gently opened it.
 
There was dust …cobwebs hanging over…

A small faded manuscript lay
there. It had a yellowish tint to it and a layer of dust had formed all over
it. It seemed as if no one had opened it for ages. Forgotten and cast aside
..

She opened it. It was a
handwritten manuscript. Entitled

Autumn
Concerto

Danny
Alonzo

Had
that been Danny’s manuscript? Was the composer the Danny that she knew? She
held onto the manuscript and left the piano room, with more questions than
answers.

“
Love is a fire.

But whether it is going to warm your
hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.”

?
Joan Crawford

Chapter 5

Memories

It was January
2011.
Adelie
was now in university. She had moved
away and had now lived in Chicago.

Danny was a part
of her memories that had been fading
away
..placed
side..
forgotten
..