All the colors of the rainbow

A Story by JLe

Music was her passion.

She was at her very best when she just let the music flow from her. When her eyes flew across the sheet music in sync with her fingers on the keys, when she let every note tell the story it hid - that’s when she felt free. The moment the cold metal touched her bottom lip, the rest of the world disappeared. There was just her and her flute, and the beautiful music they made together. And that was all she needed to survive.

A number of things kept her alive: her heart that beat and pumped the blood around her body; her muscles and bones that kept her moving; the nutrients that her stomach meticulously processed; and her brain, that mish-mash of nerves that coordinated everything in her. But there was only one thing that could make her feel alive, and that was music. There was nothing else that could make her forget who she was and what she was doing her, or any of the big questions she was always brooding over. When she felt the weight of her beloved flute in her hand, everything else fell into place.

Her life would be illogical without music. Playing came naturally, it was second nature to her. Whenever she listened to Emmanuel Pahud’s wonderful music, her fingers automatically moved in unison. Without even thinking about it, her lips would pout - as if they were longing to play along - when she went to concerts. And she was constantly keeping time, whether it was to music playing or to birdsong from the trees. Music not being a part of her life was unthinkable, it was irrational. A life without music would be a life unlivable.

It all came down to who she was: she was music. She wasn’t just someone’s friend, not only someone’s daughter, sister, grandchild. When she held her flute, she wasn’t even her " she was something bigger than her. She was joy, sorrow, anger, all the colors of the rainbow and every comedy, tragedy and romance that hid behind the sheet music. When the flute rested quietly on her bottom lip, when she took that first, deep breath, she was the only thing she truly knew - she was music.