Give Music To My Soul

A Story by Karen Johnson

Be a dreamer. It will make you perfect. Read to know more.

A midst cold winter winds and neighing horses, Alan sat at the backyard of her little one bedroom house and sang to her heart’s content. Her voice was her life. Her voice could eradicate all the silence and grief and bring about a new sense of ailment to the spectators. She paused and coughed.

‘Alan are you there little girl?’

‘Yes nana. I am.’

To this world Alan was a complete lone soul. Her parents, whom she had never seen were somewhere far from the chaos and dust of the world. Alan, lived alone in the centre of the thick forests of Switzerland, without any fear. Her only friend, a midst all this was her neighbour, in the thick canopy of these forests, Mr. Keagan Parker whom lovingly she called nana.

Alan’s life till today been a peaceful, unturned book. But maybe, the everlasting almighty had something else in store for her.

‘Yes nana what’s wrong?’ she said with a jingling smile and spark in her eyes. ‘My child’ with a hand over her shoulder and a small smile carving on his face he said, ‘You’re going.’ with a pinch of roughness. ‘Nana! What are you saying, where am I going?’ she asked innocently.

‘To Los Angeles.’

‘What!’ ‘Los Angeles and me! Who will accommodate me in there?’

‘Ha ha…little girl!’ ‘Your voice can take you anywhere my dear.’

She was still not completely clear.

‘Am I off to Los Angeles, did Robin say something to you?’

‘Yes dear’

‘You have made it.’ ‘You have cracked the code.’ ‘Your voice will now rule los Angeles.’

A few weeks back when Robin, an international star came to Switzerland, for a shoot he was not less than mesmerized by the essence and pureness of Alan’s melodious voice. He promised to get her to Los Angeles and make her a sensation And today, just after a period of 14 days Alan’s voice has taken her high. She was elated. her eyes looked up into that blue sky. She wanted to fly. She wanted to shout, laugh and just let herself free.

‘Nana, thank-you’ that’s all that girl could manage to.’say. She was just 21 but her aspirations an desires were much higher and complex than her age. She didn’t want wealth, she wanted satisfaction.

A week later, she was at Los Angeles. The chaos, the people, everything different, everything sorted and sophisticated. She stood there at the airport clad in a red gown, the best she had and rolled her eyes around. ‘There’ she finally spotted Robin. He was a year or two elder to her. He wasn’t that complete star ‘star’. He led a very simple life. She waved to him. He recognized her at once. He came to her and gave her a formal hug. She uncomfortably returned it. He smiled. ‘It’s okay.’

Alan, had always loved her simple life. She never mused about anything. But now, she had to change it, maybe for her own good.

‘Uh...come I’ll show you your house.’ Robin said, smiling calmly.

‘My house. Robin! Don’t joke.’ She said, as if being hurt.

‘Ha ha… Alan, I’m not joking. I’ve got a house rented up for you.’ he said with the same calm smile.

‘But I can’t afford to pay any rent here, Robin!’ she panicked harder.

‘Oh god. Alan calm down. I’m there for you here. You can trust me just like you trusted nana out there.’ He said with a lot of assurance in his tone.

‘Thank-you Robin.’ she said in a guilty tone.

‘Always there.’ he replied calmly.

Robin dropped off Alan at her rented house and drove back home.

The next day, was different for Alan. She rehearsed for hours along with Robin at the studio. Every note she sang gave birth to even more passion and enthusiasm. She didn’t have anything to worry now. Her happiness was in this. She was just a few days away from success. Her new album was set to release in the next 48 hours.

Two days were to go for the final blow.

‘Come on Alan! Do it! Sing Baby, sing.’

‘Yea Robin. Can I get a break, for about ten minutes?’

‘Oh sure! Why not! Break time guys.’

Alan rushed out into her change room. She was choking. Her throat was bad. She couldn’t take it. She drank some water. Her headache was just increasing. She moved back trying to take a seat on the couch but lost her balance and collapsed on the floor.

After an hour of waiting, Robin moved into Alan’s room. He was shocked. His hands went numb. Her face was pale with no strength on it. Seconds later, Robin was in the car driving her to the nearest hospital. She did mean something to him. She did.

A silent void. An atmosphere of complete grief and pain. Robin was shattered. He wasn’t worried about the album or his reputation but that little innocent girl who had come out into this gigantic web of success and failure just for her driving passion of music.

Music gave life to her soul. She breathed day in day out for music. Her dream was to be in music and live every moment of her life accompanied by music.

The doctors after about an hour of examining her came out with a grey face.

‘What’s wrong with her doctor? Is she okay?’

‘I’m sorry Mr. Robin. She has a major tumour in her brain. And unfortunately we can’t help it. I’m sorry.’

There weren’t words that could express his sorrow. The thought of telling her this feared him even more.

‘You can talk to the patient.’

Robin went in with a shivering hand. She sat up there with that same sparkling smile of hers.

‘Robin! Get me out of here. The Album’s release and my first ever Live performance is in two days dearie.’

‘You can’t sing.’

‘Why? Because of that god damn it tumour?’ ‘Robin. Give me a break. I have all this while lived for music. I have dreamt of this day in my life and today when every moment of life will be .defined by music I think of quitting. Robin I can’t. You gave me this life, and I owe you a lot in return. Though I can’t give back everything, but I can at least give you back a good album and a sensational performance, am I right?

‘No Alan. I can’t afford to lose you.’

His eyes had that glitter of saline water in it.

‘Robin, if you really love me, then remember I’ll always be in there in your heart and don’t argue now please I need to rehearse too.’

‘Wait a minute, you knew it all the while long. You little pest! Okay! I’m getting you out of here, my sweetest heart.’

‘Ha ha thank you!’

The pain suddenly disappeared. They were back on their jamming boards and amplifying boxes. The entire night and the following day was only dedicated purely to music.

The night came. She sang. She was applauded. The album released. That night she came home and slept, but never woke up. She loved him too. She loved her music too. Her grave had her own song’s words is over as as epitaph. It read �"

‘I came into this world to sing,

I came into this world to dream,

My soul will be peaceful,

Only when it receives that peaceful enrichment of Music.

I urge to you,

I urge,

Give music to my soul, I say

Give music to my soul.’