ignaling sweet freedom fr

ptied as students made

ly deserted corridors until I reached

t at Westbrook High where I could just ex

rner, its chipped keys a stark contrast t

ently as I passed, my fingers

iful instruments humming with the promise of sweet m

h the high windows, casting everythi

ttled onto the lumpy piano bench, lifti

d and worn keyfelt enveloped m

almost reverently at first bef

n quickly gained confidence and purpose as

re deep down, pouring out in this aching cry that just

y able to breathe and scream out unabashe

keys, I tilted my head back an

eil the mo

dreams before

by the cal

live in your war

t seeps ben

tendrils diggi

ut my batt

little hope I

nse your

he brutal nigh

illiance,

cruel chill you

w to shatter

shadows, ending

l the woun

of loving rays t

ce, my eyes still squeezed shut as the raw

den - like a raw, spiritual hemorrhaging of all the pain an

I was left with something else..

ays of warmth would eventually break thro

etting out a shaky sigh as the wind

eyes landed on a hulkin

scare you.Forgive

oing through the room as he advanced tow

e amber light - he had to be pushing seven feet tall

ust seemed at odds with that barbaric size. His severe features wer

ng intensity that bored straight through me, tha

umbled, his words soft yet commanding.

nd closed uselessly as

g at me to flee, to get the hell awa

n place, transfixed ben

d. "Please, forgive my intrusion. I was drawn in by the sound of your.

tretched hand and his blazing regar

the back of my mind, laden with importance

s hand with a disarming rumble of lau

n, I'd wager," he remarked, those harsh features relaxing into an almost fatherly warmth. "But no need for

e last few words finally sn

willing my thundering heart to

urted out, then immediately cringed at my own

let out a deep peal of laughter t

f youth," he chuckled with an a

ausing briefly before

ss your personal performance was on an entirely higher plane from what I ha

ghtly at the weird,

eep, resonant quality beyond the rich baritone rever

e with that penetrating thousand-yard stare. "A particular voice capable of c

in the pit of my stomach as his words se

be implying what I th

me." A wistful smile ghosted across the giant's harsh features as he uttered the name. "Her

le instinctively seize up as his overwhelming presen

ith somber reverence. "Years ago, my grandmother's voice was savagely robbed from her by a de

as he savored the silence lik

gain, they shone bright

y of my grandmother's most transcendent arias. In that achingly raw lament, I sens

lly happenin

this bastion of quiet power and authority

ntle timbre seeming to caress my very essence. "If you might allow me

etely and utterly transfixed and u

on rang shrilly, but I barely registered the sound bey

it, Miss