Duet: Death's Recital

by Lizzie Vega

  As the lilting music filled the tiny room, Kelli felt Mikayla back farther into the corner behind her. Subtly, she turned to look only to see her friends’ eyes watching the upper corners of the room. Only age-faded acoustic panels to Kelli, she knew that Mikayla was seeing something else entirely. She reached back and squeezed her arm gently.

  Edward’s eyes were wide as he watched the performance play out on his laptop. The delicate sensors were set for a full frequency search. He watched the peaks and valleys of the sound waves dance across the screen, writing notes to himself as they went. As Sara took the lead for a quiet solo break, he set the notebook to the side and just listened to her play.

  Alvin’s initial picture taking frenzy slowed as the performance shifted into a quieter passage. Even Mikayla noticed the shift in tempo and theme as something she had not heard before. Where the original version was more dynamic and almost spontaneous, this rendition was simpler, more elegant.

  The piano and violin flowed seamlessly together as if Ethan and Sara had played together for years. After a playful series of measures where they would repeat each other’s notes, the composition ended as Sara played a final run up the fretboard, her index finger played a gentle perfect vibrato as the last chord of the piano strings vibrated to silence.

  Ethan turned and smiled confidently at Sara. She only nodded at him with her ever-present smile.

  She looked at Alvin as he took one last picture, then he quickly took off his glasses to clean them. Alvin cleared his throat to get their attention for one last picture and Sara turned to him with a shy smile.

  “Um, wow,” Edward said quietly, “I don’t know whether to clap or burst into tears. It sounded like…”

  “Spring,” Mikayla said softly, her voice crackling, “It sounds like the first day of spring.”

  “Thank you,” Ethan said, “that’s a slightly different version than the one we’ve played before. A smaller setting among close friends, we thought we’d try it out.”

  Kelli heard a deep sigh from Mikayla and felt her push against her as she tried to move toward the door. She pivoted to let Mikayla by and saw her fingertips at her temple.

  “Mik?”

  “I’m fine,” she said as she struggled to open the door, “I’ll…be right back.”

  Kelli exchanged a sharp look with Edward, but it was Sara who quickly set her violin on top of the piano. “I’ll go,” she said with a hurried glance to Ethan, “you guys study your sound waves or something.”

  After Sara left, Ethan looked at Kelli, “Is she okay? It looked like she was in pain.”

  “Might be a migraine,” Kelli explained, “Close quarters with both sound and the sights, she gets overwhelmed sometimes.” She took a deep breath, “I’m sure it will pass.”

  Chapter 23

  Sara caught up with Mikayla as she stumbled into the washroom, “Are you going to be all right?” Without waiting for an answer, Sara jumped to the sink and after folding up two small bundles of paper towels, she ran them under cold water, then squeezed them. “Hop up, close your eyes,” she said softly, nodding her head to the bathroom counter, “I have some experience with migraines.”

  Embarrassed, Mikayla looked at Sara, then down to the floor, “I’ll be okay...it’s nothing.” She looked up at the young woman, her earnest smile was impossible to ignore. For Mikayla, it only made her situation worse. “I don’t think migraine really describes this.”

  “Please,” Sara asked, her voice almost pleading, “I know how weird this is for all of us. Let me try for a minute or two then I’ll go so you can decompress. Sit up here, let me try.”

  Still unable to look her directly in the eye, Mikayla eased herself up onto the countertop, “Okay, a minute or two. You’re right about the decompress part.” She closed her eyes and flexed her jaw.

  “Where’s it starting?” Sara asked as she moved to stand in front of Mikayla, “Eyes and temples or in the front?” Mikayla opened one eye, squinting, “Right temple.”

  “That’s where mine would start,” Sara said quietly, placing the cool towel on the side of Mikayla’s head, “then it seemed to stomp across my forehead. Not fun at all. Okay, left side, nice and cool.”

  Mikayla felt a pang of guilt begin to creep up her shoulder blades as Sara refreshed the compresses, alternating between her temples and forehead. “Seems like we have several things in common,” Sara said softly. Mikayla felt her heart skip a beat as a new compress soothed her temple.

  “Music and migraines,” Mikayla said quietly, aware of having left out one important person. The minor headache was fading but was being replaced by something different. “I’m sorry to be such trouble,” she said abruptly, “You should head back to the practice room, he’s…they’re waiting for you. I guess it’s been quite a day for you.”

  Sara nodded, her gentle smile in place, “It really has, you know. I’ve been all around the campus for so long and never been able to interact with anyone. It’s a little frightening, but I’m so glad I got to meet you…that we’re so connected.”

  Mikayla sighed, looking away from her, “It seems we are.” She looked up, “Sara,” a tear rolled down her cheek, “would you mind if...”

  “Want some alone time?” Sara answered back, “I totally get that.”

  “I do feel better, thank you. Maybe I just need to get some sleep. I don’t know, some caffeine maybe?”

  Sara stepped back and began to make another compress. After letting it soak for a minute, she looked up at Mikayla, “Am I too close to you? I can understand.” While her smile never wavered, her voice did, “I don’t want…to be a burden,” she whispered.

  Mikayla surprised herself by sliding off the countertop and putting her arms around Sara. “Don’t say that,” she said just as her emotions crested and tears spilled down her cheeks, “You’re not a burden. You’re a miracle.”

  Mikayla pulled back, “You go back to the practice room. Tell everyone not to worry, I’ll be fine.” She wiped her tears away, “Go play. I’m gonna go home and practice how not to be such a drama queen.”

  “Are you sure?” Sara asked, “I can stay-no, wait,” she caught herself, “Alone time is good too. I’ll see you again soon.” She turned to go but stopped at the doorway, “Um, Mikayla?”

  Blotting her tears, Mikayla looked at her curiously, “I really do feel better,” she offered.

  Sara grinned and nodded, “Thank you for today…and for…down the road, okay?” She walked back to Mikayla.

  Mikayla reached and turned off the water. For a moment it was eerily quiet in the bathroom. Sara reached for her hands, “I have a favor to ask.”

  As Sara spoke quietly, her almost constant smile faded briefly before blossoming again.

  Mikayla looked down, embarrassed as her heart began to race as she replayed some of the things she had heard. When she looked up, Sara was gone.

  Chapter 24

  “I hope she’s okay,” Edward said softly then was distracted by Alvin furiously clicking through his pictures, “Did you get some good ones?”

  Alvin clicked through the final shot, then held the camera up to Edward, “She’s in every photo, full color, full 3D,” he said slack jawed, “No interference or anything.” He reached out to touch the strings of her violin but drew his hand back as if not allowed.

  “I’m sure it’s fine, Alvin,” Ethan chuckled, “Go ahead. She won’t mind.”

  Alvin plucked the E string with his fingertip, then set his finger on it to stop it from vibrating, “I don’t understand any of this, but it sure is amazing.” Edward snapped his fingers and pointed at the camera, “Lemme see.”

  “Trade ya,” Alvin laughed as Edward stood to let him see the computer screen.

  “Clear as a bell in the headphones,” Edward said as Alvin put on the headphones for the playback, “I’ll dig into it later, but I’m sure I got it all.” He began to advance through the camera’s photos just as Sara walked back into the practice room, quietly closing the door
behind her.

  “Kelli,” she began, “Mikayla has the beginnings of a migraine. I guess it was a little too much for her but she’s okay. She said she was going to catch up with you for dinner.”

  “Ohhhh, that’s too bad,” Kelli said glumly, “Thanks though, for jumping to her rescue. I wondered if it might be too much for her,” she said, “uh, in such a confined space.”

  “I feel bad,” Sara said quietly, “I don’t want to be the cause of an issue, she’s such a sweetheart.”

  Kelli half-smiled, “I’m sure she’ll snap out of it. She’s mentioned it to me before. It should go away pretty soon.”

  Edward continued clicking through the pictures. He paused then smiled and turned the camera around so that both Sara and Ethan could see the photo, “This is a great shot.” He grinned at Ethan, “I’ll send you a copy.”

  Ethan looked at the image and shared a smile with Sara, “I’d like that.” Edward grinned then cleared his throat, “Big day,” he said, “We should clear out and let this sink in or something.” Alvin caught his eye, “Yeah. I’ll get all this stuff outta here and we can meet up tomorrow or something. Kel, you can look after Mikayla?”

  Surprised by the sudden change in plans, Kelli found herself agreeing, “I guess. I don’t want to be the third wheel.” She picked up her bag and stood in the doorway. After a quick look down the hallway, she looked at Sara, “Can I ask a quick favor?”

  “Sure,” was the quick response.

  Kelli reached out her hand, “Come out here for a second. Like two seconds.”

  As Kelli walked out the narrow door with Sara, three other students walked by in the hall. They turned and watched as Kelli passed by with Sara. Kelli nodded to the girls, careful to watch for a reaction. Continuing down the hall, the three underclassmen continued and rounded a corner. Kelli dragged Sara back into the practice room.

  “They saw her,” she exclaimed, “No question about it, they looked her up and down.”

  She saw Alvin frown, “Maybe should have run it by you, but hey-the opportunity was there.”

  “Wow, huge day,” he repeated, “What is going on?”

  “Later,” Edward said as he slid his laptop into its carry bag, “We can let this settle in and then we can see if we can figure it out.” He turned to Sara, “I’m gonna be completely unfiltered here, but you are amazing. It was such an experience to meet you.”

  Alvin laughed, “He can get like this, but I totally agree. This was as enjoyable as it is fascinating. I hope we can do this again.”

  Sara smiled but shocked all of them by turning beet red with embarrassment, “I’m glad to hear that.” She turned to Kelli, “Please take care of Mikayla for us, okay?”

  Both Edward and Alvin moved toward the doorway and given the small space, practically forced Kelli back out into the hallway, “I sure will. I’ll let you both…um well. Ethan, I’ll let you know? This is weird,” she laughed, “I don’t know how this works now.”

  “Let me know,” Ethan smiled, as Alvin grinned, closing the door behind him. The three of them stood out in the hallway. “What,” he looked at a sober Edward, “was that all about? It was kinda rude to blow out of there so quick.”

  “Quit it. You did fine,” Edward said, lowering his voice, “I just had a weird thought in there and maybe it’s nothing. I just want to get back to the house and take a closer look at what we have.”

  “What’s the weird thought, Ed?”

  “Probably nothing,” he said quickly back.

  “Dude,” Kelli chirped, “I should see about Mik.”

  “She’ll be fine,” he said to their surprise, “Let’s get out of here. Grab a coffee somewhere off campus?” he said, clearly becoming agitated.

  Chapter 25

  Having made her way to the Union, Mikayla was barely able to speak to the barista as he handed her the tall latte. Looking around the crowded café area, she opted to take the stairs down to a usually quieter lounge. To make matters worse, she heard Amanda’s voice coming down the hallway. Embarrassed for her behavior in the practice room, she wasn’t in the mood for small talk and after flipping the hood of her sweatshirt up, quickened her steps to keep ahead of them.

  She didn’t notice the black snaking tendrils that followed her down the steps of the busy stairwell. Oblivious to the billowing dark shape that swelled up behind her, she caught the eye of the security chief as he rounded the corner of the stairs heading toward her.

  “I think it’s a long shot,” Kelli said. “We just don’t know enough about her.”

  “Not like there’s a training manual,” Alvin mused as he looked over the photos, “It so weird. It’s like we were at a party. These are just random candid photos…no big deal.”

  “Like I said,” Edward repeated, “I want to be wrong about this. We’ll have to ask Ethan at some point.”

  “Super awkward,” Kelli said, then looked down at her phone as a text came in. She smirked and ignored it, “Not Mikayla,” she said as she pushed the phone away, “Sara is always smiling, she’s truly a wonderful person.”

  “Always smiling,” Edward repeated, “Like never not smiling.”

  “We should be so lucky, Mr. Gloomy,” Alvin laughed only to have Edward roughly grab his laptop out of his bag and open it up.

  “Kelli got hurt,” he said angrily, “I’m sorry if I’m overly cautious. I don’t want to see people I care about get hurt. Gimme a couple of minutes.” He dug in his bag for a patch cord and began to download the photos from the practice room.

  Alvin caught Kelli’s eye. His arched brow made her smile as she watched Edward bring up the pictures. After a few moments of arranging and editing, he spun the laptop around, “How can you not see the resemblance?”

  Edward had taken the final photo of Kelli’s dark apparition and placed it side by side with the last picture of Sara. He’d edited Ethan out of the shot and zoomed in on Sara.

  “Oh God,” Kelli gasped, “I don’t like this at all.”

  “She turned to the camera,” Alvin said, “I remember…I thought it was cute. She’s really pretty.”

  “Yeah,” Kelli huffed, “We’ve been over that to death.” She sighed heavily, “I’m not trying to be a bitch, there’s…there’s just another big angle to all of this.”

  “Mik likes him, duh.” Alvin smirked, “Not breaking news, Kel. She’s kinda fun to watch when she’s around him.”

  “Until today,” Edward said sadly, “Did she really have a migraine or just couldn’t bear to be in there with Sara?”

  Kelli blinked, “Wow, I’m a little stunned, you guys. She did a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps, I thought anyway.”

  Edward looked at Alvin. They both shook their heads, “Ah, no.”

  “She adores Sara,” Kelli said, “She feels weird about it.” Another ping from Kelli’s phone got their attention. Kelli leaned to look at it, “God, Amanda, I so don’t want to talk to you.”

  A second later, the phone rang. Kelli answered it with her typical snark, “Sorry, my social calendar is completely booked.” She sat up straight as Amanda hollered back in her ear.

  “What, Oh God, When?” Kelli signaled to Edward and Alvin to begin gathering their belongings. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, “We gotta go,” she said them, “It’s Mikayla.”

  “Where?” she asked Amanda. There was a long pause and Kelli closed her eyes, “No…that’s a disaster.” Edward and Alvin stood as Kelli listened, “We’ll be there in ten minutes.” She hung up the phone and took a deep breath, “Mik fell down the steps at the Union. They’re taking x-rays.”

  Chapter 26

  Running down the hallway of the Campus infirmary, they found Amanda sitting with a very subdued Mikayla. As she held up her gauze wrapped wrist, Amanda played down the emergency, “She’s gonna be fine. It’s not broken. Bow hand…all good.” She collapsed dramatically into her chair as Mikayla managed a weak smile.

  “They were right behind me when it happened,” s
he said as she glanced at Amanda, “I got lucky, I guess.”

  “You guess?” Kelli blurted out then dialed back, “Sorry. She made it sound like your playing days were over. God, Manda, drama much?”

  “Not helping, Kel,” Edward added quietly under his breath.

  “It’s just wrapped to stabilize it for now. Some ice and rest and I’ll be fine.” Mikayla said sheepishly to Kelli, “It’s kinda swollen up.”

  “On top of your migraine,” Alvin said as he knelt down next to her, “That’s gotta suck.”

  Mikayla looked at Kelli and sighed, “Sure,” she whispered, turning away from him.

  “One minute she was there,” Amanda interrupted, “then the next, she’s flying down the steps. Then the lights blinked and oh jeez, she scared the crap out us. Lucky one of the campus cops was there to help.” Her expression turned, “Actually he was more of a jerk than anything.”

  Mikayla waved off the concern. “He was as shocked as I was. It was only, like five steps, Manda. I didn’t fly either.” She pulled at her stained sweatshirt, “Landed on my latte for extra points. It all happened so fast.”

  Edward chuckled behind her, “So the only thing you broke was your fall?”

  “That’ll be funny tomorrow,” Kelli rolled her eyes, “when can you go home?”

  “Now,” Mikayla said looking at Amanda, “I’ve already signed off on the paperwork so my folks will get the bill. I’ll get a big lecture, for sure,” she said her chin beginning to quiver, as she held up her hand to wiggle her fingers, “Just really incredibly bad timing.”

  “It’ll work out,” Kelli said quickly, “You needed a short break anyway,” She looked at Edward, “Yeah, tomorrow, I know.”