3 years later - Age 3
“Mama, mama! ’ook wat I dew in pwesool uday.” a small Rena called out to her mother.
“ReRe this is beautiful! Is this us?” her mother was holding the drawing her 3 year old brought home from preschool.
“Yes, ith me and ’ou mama.” the little Rena smiled. “Mama?”
“Yes my angel?”
“Ms. ’mith said famiwies have daddies. Do I have a daddie?” Rena asked.
Her mom’s face twitched a little but she just smiled and looked down at her daughter. “Yes my dear but we don’t need to have a daddy around. We are better on our own. It’s just you and me against the world.”
“Oh, ohtay. I’m hungie. Is it ’nack time?” Rena giggled, smiling up at her mommy.
“Of course sweetheart. Do you want apples or oranges today?”
“Appwles!” She cheered.
1 year later - Age 4
“Mama! I want to learn the piano. Can you teach me?” Rena looked up at her mom with sparkles in her eyes.
“Why do you want to learn the piano sweetheart?” her mother looked over the top of her book.
“Well, because mama always looks so happy when she plays the piano. I want to be just like you mama.” She said with a big toothy grin.
Her mother set the book down and smiled back at her daughter. Such love in her eyes. She was so happy her daughter asked her such a thing.
As a child she wasn’t given the choice. She happened to see a piano one day and began to play a song just from hearing it. As soon as she did she was labeled a child prodigy and was basically forced into playing. There were competitions after competitions. She hated them. Music shouldn’t be a sport. Challenging each other on who could play what the best. Music was an art, a way to express oneself. When she was able to play for herself, away from the challenges she felt at peace. She loved it. She loved the piano and how when she played she would lose herself in the keys. The notes would take her away to a place she could be free. That was the mama her daughter wanted to be.
“Of course sweetheart. Come here and I’ll teach you.” She rose and held her daughter’s hand as they walked to the music room of their little apartment.
Needless to say her daughter was just as much a prodigy as her mother. She was able to quickly learn and fell in love just as she thought she would. She was going to grow up just like her mama.
1 year later - Age 5
It was the week before kindergarten started, the last happy summer Rena would have for a while. The mother daughter duo were dressed up to the nines for a special gala that her mother was asked to be a special guest at. Her mother was dressed in an elegant blue strapless dress. It was form fitting showing all the right curves. Her blonde hair was curled and flowed behind her down her back. Her bangs were braided to a half point on her head. She stood in the wings waiting for her performance.
“Mommy, when is your turn?” The young Rena was bouncing up and down.
“Hush my angel, it will be soon.” She smiled as she held a finger to her lips.
Rena was overflowing with excitement. She loved watching her mother play the piano but this was the first time she would see her in person on the stage. She had watched recordings of her mother’s competitions and other performances but nothing was like the real thing. This was a special performance because at the end, she was going to play an original song she wrote for her daughter.
The moment had finally come. Elizabeth Reyes was called to the stage. She stepped out and the audience was silent with anticipation. The child prodigy who had been away from public eyes for 6 years, was she making a comeback?
She reached the grand piano and slipped into the seat. She raised her hands and softly placed them on the keys. As soon as the first key played its sound she felt the warmth once more. She let the music consume her. The melody flowed through her fingers as if that was all they knew. The sound traveled throughout the venue. Everything seemed to stand still. The music was the only thing moving, besides the hearts of those who were listening.
This is music. This is love. This is how a soul transcends their essence through the waves of emotion. Elizabeth wasn’t playing for the crowd. No, she was playing for her daughter. The one she loved more than anything else in this world. She knew she wouldn’t be able to for long, in fact she knew this would be the only time her daughter would hear her on stage, express her feelings. She was painting the lasting image of her soul, her being, her existence, because life was simply unfair.
During her final song, the tears began to fall. She poured herself into the melody. It was her melody, a composite written by her for her daughter. Through the notes she spoke her heart.
“My little angel. My Serena. My Serenity. You saved me, little one. I was caged, chained, tethered to a world everyone else wanted me to live in. I wanted none of it. Music was my first love, my passion, but it was also my pain. Those around me wanted my music to be conventional, constructed, strict, perfect. But their perfection was not my perfection. This is my perfection. My last performance, all for you, so you can see what music should be. Music is more than just notes on a page. It’s beautiful, it’s majestic, it’s forever.
Music is the whisper of the wind through the leaves, A gentle murmur of the stream that weaves.
It’s the rhythm of hearts, the painter of sighs, A canvas of emotions under the vast skies.
It dances like flames, flickering with grace, In every note, a warm embrace.
A symphony of waves crashing on the shore, Each melody a key to a celestial door.
It’s the language of souls, where words fail, A harmonious journey on an endless trail.
Music is the echo of the universe’s tune, A timeless ballad, a precious boon.
You saved me from a world I did not belong to, a world I didn’t want. You became my world. My everything. So for you I wrote this symphony of sounds. Follow your dreams, my love. Find your Serenity.”
As her song ended, the crowd erupted into cheers and Rena could feel the admiration. She was on cloud nine, seeing how much love everyone was showing her mama.
Elizabeth stood up and bowed to the audience. She turned and walked off the stage as her darling daughter was bouncing up and down.
“Mama you were so amazing! You looked like an angel!” She said with stars in her eyes.
“Thank you my dear. Now let’s go home.” Her mother said with a small smile.
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