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The Element of Surprise There's a soft sound echoing through the air; it is mournful, but does not speak of the secrets of one whose hands effortlessly glide over its keys. She can hear it all the way from the kitchen, so she knows that it is important for the message to reach her, whatever that message may be. She knows that it's her father playing the piano again, and he is trying to tell her something. As always, she prepares a cup of black coffee for him. (It's never anything different – he doesn't like surprises, though he always tries to surprise her.) When she thinks he will be satisfied by her efforts, she places the cup on a tray and carefully balances it in her hands as she walks upstairs and into the piano room.. And as always, her father accepts gratefully. He takes a couple sips and tells her to wait a moment, don't leave yet. His hands hover above the keys for a few moments, and then he starts playing again. The loudness is almost unbearable, but she stands her ground. The sounds emanating from the piano are suddenly a little more ambitious. This always happens. She obeys him because he is the authority, and he tells her that he is thankful. This cycle may be their way of living, but it never breaks the wall of despair that separates their blood, which was said to be connected forever the day they met, for the sound is also suddenly a little more sinister. Kristin Leprich is a young author who has won a second place poetry award in the Illinois High School Association's 2010 Suburban Prairie Conference. She specialises in short works, and has previously been published in One Forty Fiction.  Copyright © Emerald Bolts Magazine, 2013 The front page image is copyright © by Anthony Kitterick, 2012 |