La musique la ramène

7

Walking into the room with Maria, I looked around and saw some of my furniture still there. The mirror that I looked in daily, sat nicely on the dresser table, alongside the wardrobe that sat next to it.

"She seemed nice." Maria smiled, emptying her suitcase. "I thought she was going to be mean and horrible."

"She has changed." I looked to my friend. "She never used to be as kind as she is now."

"Well, like my mother always told me - people do change." She sat on the bed, watching me as I began to unpack. "Does it feel weird to be back?"

"If I am honest?" I breathed out. "Yes, yes it does." I looked around the room once more, wanting to take it all in. "I have so many memories in this room. In the whole house."

"With him?" She asked, making my eyes well up slightly. I had no words to say and truthfully, I did not know whether I could say anything, as I was on the brink of having my millionth break down. "You can talk about him you know? Maybe it will do you some good?"

"I can't." I mumbled. "If I talk about him, I will move on. I do not think I am ready for that." I breathed out, brushing my stray hair back with my hand. "Anyways, enough about me. How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling positive and I cannot thank you all enough." She smiled. "I have this good feeling inside that we were going to find him."

"I sure hope we do." I agreed, looking to her with sympathetic eyes.

"Well, enough about me." She mimicked, looking to me with a massive grin. "How do you think those two are getting along?"

"Oh, just fine." I smirked. "Like a house on fire."

"As long as they are quiet I don't mind." Maria giggled, making me throw the pillow at her, while squealing her name in disgust. "What?" She giggles more.

"I don't even want to think of them like that." I laughed, turning my nose up at the thought.

"Well neither do I!" She chuckled, letting out a sigh after. "Well, I am exhausted, I am going to go to bed."

"Me too." I smiled, jumping into the bed with my nightdress on.

"Goodnight." We said to one another, closing our eyes and dropping off to sleep.

I woke up a while later, before hearing the clock strike two am. My mind was not allowing me to go back to sleep and I laid awake and looked to the celling, that was just lit by the light of the moon.

Standing up, I decided to go and get myself a cup of tea, which would hopefully get me back to sleep. Carefully, I crept out of the room and shut it quietly, before I turned around and began to walk - but something caught my eye.

My old piano still sat in the same place it always had. Walking over to it, I was careful as I stepped, not wanting to create any noise. Successfully, I reached over and pulled up the cover.

There it stood in all its glory. Untouched since the last time he had played it. Sitting down on the seat, my fingers brushed over the white keys and I longed to play them. It was as though my hands were a magnetek to the keys, as I accidentally pressed one key which sent a smile straight to my face.

"I kept it there." I heard a voice say, making me jump; causing the piano lid to shut - luckily my fingers were not in the way. "Sorry-" Madame smiled. "I did not mean to frighten you."

"It is okay." I replied. "I should not have touched it at this hour."

"Well, it is yours." She leant against the door way.

"It has not been mine for some time." I muttered, looking back the instrument once more.

"You haven't played since you left?" She asked and I nodded my head, ashamed that something that once made me so happy, I had neglected since my time in Paris. "I am shocked."

"I wouldn't have thought you would have kept it." I looked to her. "No one else can play it, so why keep it?" She took a deep sigh and sat down in one of the chairs opposite me.

"I was not going too." She began. "After you went, the officer stayed-" She looked to me as she spoke, knowing that it would have some affect on me. She was talking him. "-he stayed for some time after you left and insisted that I kept the piano. He found out about Anna and you know what?"

"What?" I squeaked, my heart thudding at the thought. The small jewish child, that had disguised as a catholic with her mother, just to survive. I prayed he did not send her away, to where I assume her mother was sent too - a camp.

"He never told a soul." She smiled. "He never said a word to anyone and at night time, would teach her how to play it."

"He taught her to play?" I repeated, my cheeks blushing at the thought.

"Yes, he would talk to her and teach her different things." She continued. "But she loved that piano."

"Is Anna still here?" I asked, which only made Madame smile even more.

"Yes, she is." She answered. "She is staying with Celine and her daughter."

"Celine has a daughter?" I gasped. "How?"

"Well I am sure you know how Amelia." She teased. "It was with one of the Germans who was staying here. The little girl has the brightest blonde hair you will ever see. It is a shame really, they are kind people really, but people are just unforgiving."

"Poor Celine." I sighed, feeling sorry for the woman that was used and abused. She never seemed to like me, but I had some kind feeling towards her.

There was a short pause, before Madame stood up and walked over the cabinet on the other end of the room.

"He was never the same after you left" She said, making my eyebrows furrow.

"Who was?" I asked.

"Bruno." She answered.