30 Chapter 30 - End Of The Nigh

He still looked like an old man, wearing a butler's clothes and he was pushing a trolley that carried a pot of coffee.

"Thought you guys might want some."

We muttered our thanks and then without thinking about it, I asked him to join us but he politely refused.

"However, I'd like to ask you both if you'd like some music." He asked.

"That'd help with the mood." said Caroline.

"I'm fine with it." I replied.

Then he went to a corner of the room and I noticed for the first time that the thing I took as a piece of furniture that was covered with a mantle was actually a piano.

He first tested the keys, as if he haven't touched them for quite a while, then he played a few notes and without knowing it we were entranced by the melody. It was a sad and haunting song, each note bringing goosebumps. It brought images of an outcast, a dreamer and the whisper of a boy that's been left behind.

The song went on and on, and with each note came memories, as if the piece itself was unlocking the doors within my mind and without knowing it, a tear trickled down my cheek. I was lost in a world that I could not understand, struggling to find a place for myself, and the broken pieces of me laid scattered in its landscape.

Then it was over, and the silence reverberated throughout the room. Caroline was in tears, she was sobbing uncontrollably. She was trying to repress them but to no avail.

Lucifer came over to us and apologized. "I am terribly sorry for making you both weep."

"You play beautifully." I said.

Caroline nodded. She was trying to control her sobbing, then finally. "I've never heard such a song before. It's like what Dante said, it's so beautiful and sad."

"What's the name of that song anyway?" I asked.

Lucifer looked at the light of the stars reflected through the windows, gazing into the night sky, deep in thought. "It's called 'The Fall'. It's a composition of mine." He explained. "Anyway, I'll excuse myself. I have a few things to finish in the office then maybe if you guys are still here by the time I'm done with my paperwork, I'll have that cup of coffee."

"Thank you for the song." said Caroline.

"You should play more often." I told him.

"Perhaps another time. He smiled and then he left.

**

"You didn't know he could play like that?" Caroline asked me.

"No, actually there's a lot of things I don't know about him." I replied.

"It was weird, you know? I've been touched by so many songs that I grew up listening to, but this is the first time that I've heard something like that." Her voice echoed my own thoughts.

"I often think that an individual who writes and creates the most beautiful things in life are often the ones who've went through so much pain." I said out of the blue.

"Why?" She asked, her eyes curious.

"Just a feeling." I told her and when she gave me a dissatisfied pout, I chuckled and tried to explain. "I just think that we can't really appreciate the positive things in this world without the negative. Like happiness, not everyone gets the privilege to be happy all the time so they treasure the most happiest moments in their life more than those who have known it throughout their lives." I paused and poured myself a cup of coffee with no sugar. It was bitter, and with the bitterness came memories. "When you've known sadness for so long, you get to appreciate the little things that makes you happy, you kinda get this perspective that not everything will last so you swear to yourself not to wallow in sadness anymore and instead you try to search for happiness. Sometimes, it can be a struggle though."

"Are you happy?" She asked me, her eyes holding mine.

"Tonight, I am. The happiest I've been actually." I replied.

I realized that her smile is something I could never get tired of. "Well, shouldn't you be thanking me?" She said jokingly.

I laughed. "Thank you Caroline King. Thank you for bringing me random moments of happiness."

"You're welcome. I hope you find it in you to be happy."

**

We talked about random things over coffee. The mood became light perhaps because Caroline was willing it to be so. Light-hearted jokes, gossips, happenings in town and so on. It seemed to me that she's had her fill of melancholy for the evening. We didn't really notice the time until Lucifer came out and looked to be shocked to see us still there.

"It's already 11:30." He said as if this was enough explanation to explain his shock. "Not that I'm complaining." He added with a smile.

"Oh crap, I didn't notice." Caroline looked surprised.

"Me neither." I said.

She looked at me apologetically. "I should get going."

"Yeah, I understand. It's already way past your bedtime." I escorted her down to the lounge where her guards were waiting, drinking coffee and eating a couple of sandwiches which I presumed were given to them by Lucifer earlier.

But before she was about to leave, she turned to me. "Thank you for the evening. It's been quite an experience. I've never had a talk like that."

"Me neither. I rarely get to talk to famous people." I joked.

That made her smile, then without warning she gave me a playful pinch on my cheeks.

"Will I get to see you again?" I blurted out before I could even think about what I was asking.

"We'll see." She said and it sounded as if she was teasing me. "Perhaps if you promise not to be sad all the time."

I chuckled. "Okay, I promise not to be."

Then we bade each other goodbye and I knew that tonight I would sleep with a smile on my face.