The cursed shore, Chapter one: the vision

 

visual art by: 

Guillaume Tronel

Everyone should stay calm, the ambient light should be dim, the sound of the silence helps the band to perform well for the few audiences attending in the studio they perform at, it’s a padded tiny room that splits the instruments’ vibrations and waves from the outside world.

 

Leo asked Renee to grab the wire of his guitar and connect it to the plug so they can start playing music instantly, and here erupted a dialogue between both of them after she rejected and referred to someone else to do it,

“Ah! I forgot you are an electrophobic person, just forget it I’ll do it instead of this uselessness” Said Leo

 

Renee angrily responded “I’m quite fine compared to an irrational junkie who’s addicted to collecting any object around him which is labelled compulsive hoarding, go clear your house and trash the useless stuff before you judge me! Then afterwards we can laugh if the jokes are on me”

 

Mr. Kevin halted this fight at once and told them to perform anyways, though any deficit their mentalities might have around some stuff.

 

 Leo and Renee gazed at each and before they start Mr. Kevin who’s double of Renee’s age just gave a glimpse at her and winked as a sign of cooling down and support, then they initiated throwing some beautiful rhythms that haunt everyone’s soul… meanwhile, Renee heard melodies across the door that were conflicting with their composed piece, Renee stopped playing the piano and screwed the notes suddenly, the rest of the band members just wondered about the reason, therefore, they asked Renee, she reflected the direction of the question to make it forwarded to them asking if any heard another music conflicting with theirs, they denied and affirmed already as well as reminding her that the room is considered mute to the outside, likewise, the outside is quite mute for the indoors, and whereas everyone was considering her weird that night, Mr. Kevin knew that there’s something wrong occurring there.

 

However, Renee resumed playing and while the audiences were back to enjoying, a vision comes out of nowhere to hit her and takes her through a portal to the past, when she was a little child, curious and enlightened one, witnessing a crisis on the shore, seeing people running away from the water and screaming everywhere, but all she captured, all what she was focused on was the sound of the piano emitting from the nearby restaurant, it stopped, right before everyone scream, then a lot were leaving their seats inside and left their meals, left the entire area because the pianist slotted himself and splashed his blood everywhere… despite this event, it wasn’t the first time, every year this incident repeats itself until they called this shore “the cursed shore” and ever since, it was never accessed any longer, it became abandoned…

 

Renee left the rehearsal and everyone behind and started running towards these melodies playing in the atmosphere, no one knows if it’s an illusion her head just created, or it’s a real sound that was meant to attract her, she reached her destination, the piano was still playing, and in a very not coincidental occasion Renee discovered that the shore she’s standing by and the restaurant she’s two feet apart from it are the same as described in her memory, just renovated recently by the government that intends to activate it for the sake of tourism.

 

Shivers were devouring her as well as her past, she entered the restaurant, stepped over its tiles watching the pianist while her feet felt like floating over the floor, she felt like a spirit, just observing the tables and the customers in silence, no one notices her, she involuntary approached the pianist and sat beside him and started playing the memorized tones, and everyone was impressed in a very dramatic scene, it felt like a dream for her, everything felt unreal, felt like it’s coming from the sub consciousness and totally ruled by it, but far away from a real experience.

 

She sensed palpitations and suddenly had a double visionary, everything became blurry, her thoughts became misty and nothing feels real anymore, she passed out.

 

Something was always calling her there, like a destiny, until she finally breaks the barriers and passes through them, the bars are nothing except a prison for whom hides behind them because they’re scared. That’s how we often recover from a trauma, it takes a courage to step forward what scares you and confront it.

 

She woke up in Mr. Kevin’s car, the teacher and the very dear best friend of her, who splashed water over her face to awake her senses again,

“you’re not allowed to go there, are you?” Said, Kevin.

 

This phrase rang a bell in her brain,

“it’s him, it was him all this time, Mr. Kevin was there during the accident on the shore, he was the one who told me not to go to the restaurant at that time and warned me before I just see this shocking scene happening before my naked eyes” said Renee to herself.

 

 

She couldn’t resist but to verify if it’s really him that’s why she dropped a sentence for him saying “so it was you, right? You were there when the accident happened on that shore”

 

“I’m sure, yes, it’s me” said by Kevin

 

“nothing matters but the talent you were born with, I followed you according to it, I saw you many times watching pianists in the restaurant performing, also saw you playing a part of this incomplete piece everyone keeps playing but never continues, you were the only one who added a sharp new note to the tail of that piece, which made you feel special to me, I want to be part of your life, a person who witnesses your success and glory one day, I saw you in the mall last time when I was coming back from school, it was a tiring day and I had so many tasks to do, but I saw you playing for two or three persons, and everyone was passing by neglecting how great these notes had been played, I was one of your secret fans hiding behind until you finished, and I came to initiate a conversation with you, you, distracted me from all the possible burdens I could ever own, so you and your gift were just a revive of something good inside of me, so yes, we met earlier, and I followed you like a fate.” Said by Kevin

To Renee that remained silent, and slightly happy inside due to this response,

 

She wondered why a piece like this was never completed? Maybe the death of an artist is a reborn of another in a different era, who’s going to release an invention that will never be forgotten.

 

But still wanders her brain, the reason of death of this piece composer, and his background if she could reach any of the details associated to him anywhere.

  

 She smiled at Kevin’s face and left the car after she expressed her gratitude to him and ran miles away from it, as she was thinking of everything hence, she couldn’t clear her mind, her dizziness became worse, and while she was walking home and lowering the voices of the world around her meanwhile raising the volume of the music to overpower any other irritation she feels, while she was walking, she noticed that she unintentionally stepped nearby a cut wire that was interacting with the pond caused by a muffled drain, she immediately fainted in front of a cop car, they drove her to the hospital to examine if she suffers from anything or previously attacked by any abuser, but she was just alright, they drove her back home, instead of entering the flat she climbed to the roof, where the hens are feeding on corn seeds and cats are mating behind the vintage expired furniture kept there until the bugs ate their wood and rust covered their chains.

 

She saw witches flying in the sky, cursing people’s houses, shelters, facilities and parks, everywhere that can be inhabited and everything that can be owned such as “passion”.

 

The witch looked at her and she had a sound distributing her brain telling her that “it’s just a matter of time”

 

Then the witch just faded away, only the stars remained, the sound of the crickets and the breeze hitting her face, anticipated as a gesture of a becoming nirvana, a solid faith, and self-regain.

 

She came down and her parents were awaiting her in worry and so ready to scold her for being late but she seemed so devastated and out of energy so they neglected such an attitude with her and allowed her to go to her room in peace,

Once she accessed her room, she didn’t even give herself a chance to change her clothes, instead she grabbed the laptop and googled the name of that place to know the full story she’s clueless about for decades.

The results were thrilling as much as she could expect.

 

Her assumptions were rewarded by answers.