rotrosen:
“Oh,” Ib sighed when she saw Garry’s eyes grow misty before he turned away. She knew that he did all that he could to keep a level head through hardships, especially around her. More often than not, there was still a breaking point. Misinterpreting his distance as embarrassment, she carded her fingers through his soft, lavender hair.
“Don’t be ashamed. You don’t have to keep a brave face. Not when it’s just you and me.” She wanted so much to kiss the tears away, just as she had seen lovers do in films. “But I would much rather see you smiling.” She didn’t kiss him, of course. Aside from being far too nervous, she felt that to do such a thing would be out of line. The last thing she wanted to do was frighten Garry away. At least she managed to get him to accept the money.
And then Ib thought of a grand idea. One that would fill the void in their hearts with something warm. Music. Smiling lightly and leaning down to meet Garry’s glance, she said: “I know! I’ll play for you.”
She turned from him quickly and made her way to the grand piano in the corner of the room. Plopping herself down upon the bench, her fingers hovered over the pearly keys as she mulled over what to play. There was a certain song that she’d been practicing. It wasn’t perfected, but as soon as she had heard it, she felt it was an outpour of her secret feelings. “I’ve been practicing for a while, but I still don’t have the first two verses down, so I’ll play from the middle.”
Ib realized all too well that Garry would be thinking of his own special someone as he listened. Though it would be bittersweet for her, she hoped the music would reach him even so. Closing her eyes, she began.
“There’s a somebody I’m longing to see, I hope that he turns out to be someone who’ll watch over me.”
As if she could hear which notes to play next, her head was tilted slightly and she swayed gracefully as her fingers moved daintily along the keys.
“I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood. I know I could always be good to one who’ll watch over me.”
Her young voice was not yet matured, not perfect in the slightest, but it flowed well with the melody of the old tune. She put all her heart into every note she played and every word she sang. “Although he may not be the man some girls think of as handsome, to my heart he carries the key.”
Ib felt lucky that her back was turned to Garry, for as absorbed in the music as she was, she couldn’t help blushing.
“Won’t you tell him please to put on some speed? Follow my lead. Oh, how I need someone to watch over me.”
With the last note, her voice carried until it was nothing but a small echo in the large room. Too timid to look back at him, she pressed her knees together, flattened her skirt, and fidgeted in her seat, awaiting his reaction.
Garry blushed slightly as she stroked through his messy and wavy hair. He wanted to grab her hand. He wanted to pull her close to him again but, of course, resisted the urge to do so. "I know! I'll play for you!", his beloved Ib said with a slight smile and quickly made her way to the piano. Garry felt his hands tensing again. Every time Ib would play for him, he would feel his heart beat faster with every note she played. He started to wonder if he'd developed some serious heart sickness because of her but quickly tossed the thought aside. He had no time for such thinking. He had to find a way to calm down so he could enjoy her play (and so that he could finally behave probably and normal towards Ib).
“There’s a somebody I’m longing to see, I hope that he turns out to be someone who’ll watch over me”, she sang with a calm and pleasent voice which was to die for. The man had a lot of trouble to keep his mouth shut as he was overwhelmed by her singing. While he tended to treat the girl as if she still was a little child, he also used to forget how truly talented she was. “I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood. I know I could always be good to one who’ll watch over me”, her pretty voice continued. Garry kept completly silent and focused on her slim figure which gracefully swayed as her fingers moved daintily along the keys.
When it was suddenly silent in the large room, Garry felt as if he'd had a wonderful dream. He needed a few seconds to understand that Ib had finished her play. He wanted her to continue. He wanted her to play and sing for eternity. Ib who seemed to wait for his reaction, tenderly flattened her skirt and patiently waited for him to say something.
Garry took slow steps towards the piano which only served as a decoration in his flat due to the fact that he was pretty untalented with it. He stood right behind her, approaching the little girl by letting his left hand rest on her shoulder. "That was fantastic", he whispered in amazement. Ib slowly turned around as the lavender haired man got to his knees, his eyes the same level as hers. "Thank you", Garry added and hugged her tightly. "It wasn't that special though", Ib answered, blushing slightly. "It's not only about your playing, Ib", Garry said with a serious voice. "Thank you for everything." "I – I'll never understand you." She hugged him back.
The two parted, and Garry, for the first time in his life, felt lighter than a feather for some reason he couldn't quite understand. The conversation afterwards was much lighter and after a while, even Garry would lighten up a bit more and laugh along with Ib about some stories she told him.
Eventually though, as the clock neared closer and closer to eight, Ib got a phone call from her mother who was asking what she was up to that late. Garry went outside the balcony to let her talk in privacy - and to calm himself with one of his 'cancersticks'. Although the atmosphere was pretty delightful now, he still had to toss away some weird thoughts about Ib every now and then.
Ib opened the blacony door behind him. "My mother wants me to get home in half an hour", she said. "And you know that I hate it when you're smoking while I'm around", she added, managing to take the cigarette away from him and threw it away. "I-Ib!", Garry gasped in suprise.
As they both made their way into the flat again because it was getting rather cold outside, Garry suddenly stopped in the middle of the room, his eyes peering over to the CDs which were piled neatly in the old shelf at the corner of the living room. "Hey, Ib..", Garry approached her. "Would you like to dance?".