
Silenced
It seemed an age since music had last filled Abigail’s home. The piano remained covered: its melodies smothered by leather; its keyboard untouched. But it hadn’t always been so.
Once, joyous refrains had resonated throughout the building. Music had been her life. Her passion. And Robert’s, too. Their skillful playing had filled concert halls around the globe. Their life together had been a blissful perfection made only sweeter by news that she was pregnant.
Until tragedy struck.
As she’d knelt at Robert’s graveside, the music in her soul had faded into silence. She’d withdrawn from public performance, devoting herself to the raising of her newborn daughter. It was seven years, now, since she’d last played.
Which was why it was so unusual to hear music drifting up the stairway.
“What do you think, Mummy?” Lucy called, her fingers dancing over the keys. “Miss Elliot say’s I’m a natural!” The joy in her daughter’s expression stirred something vital within Abigail, drawing her towards the piano.
Maybe the music in her soul wasn’t completely silenced, after all…
Word Count: 175
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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Mike Vore. Thank you Mike!
What a poignant story, Louise. The musical legacy continues. 🙂
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Thanks, Magarisa. 🙂 I’m glad you liked it.
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My pleasure, Louise. 😊
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A lovely note of hope at the end. Lovely piece.
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Thanks, Iain. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Such a sad story but I absolutely love the happy ending! You always write such lovely stories!
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You’re lovely for saying so, PJ. 🙂 I actually spent several days wrestling with this! It was well over the word limit to start with, and it took quite a while to cut it down without cutting out anything I really wanted to include. I’m very glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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You sure did a great job at cutting it down!
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Heart-warming! This story is a beautiful blend of warm memories, heartache, and hope.
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I’m glad you liked it, Kay. Thank you! 🙂
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My pleasure 😊
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🙂
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Great! As a piano player, I love this story 🙂
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I’ve never played the piano, though it’s one of my favourite instruments to listen to. I’m glad you enjoyed it, Christine. 🙂
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Lovely, quite sad but with a wonderfully happy ending, a new lease of life almost for mum.
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Thanks, Ali. I was determined to include the happy ending – despite struggling with the word limit!
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Beautiful work! Love this partly sad story.<3
Wishing you a lovely Sunday,
Dina
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Thank you, Dina. I was so far over the word limit with this at first that I thought for a while I might have to make it into a purely sad story. I was determined to include the positive ending, though! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Beautiful! Beautiful! Such an aspiring tale of redemption and memory.
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Thank you! I’m very glad you liked it. 🙂
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Uplifting. My husband plays piano…has all his life….every day….his music has become the soundtrack of my life. 🙂
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Lovely! Speaks of Hope!
So glad that I found your blog.
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