Songs from a Stranger

Tubes, wires, needles, and the constant beep of a heart monitor. That's all I've known for most of my life. The silent hum of the fluorescent lights that were positioned above my bed. That was, until the summer after my seventeenth birthday. That's when everything became different.

I grew up like any sick kid would have, staying inside most of the time and getting yelled at when I would try to go out. Sometimes my mom would let me sit on the porch, which was screened in of course. I'd just sit and watched the boys who lived next door play outside. One time I even caught the older one staring into the porch at me. I longed to be with them, but I knew it would be a waste. I would get tired too quickly.

As the years went by, the boys stopped going outside as often. When I hit fifteen is about the time they stopped coming out altogether. We looked to be around the same age, the older one and I. I found myself wondering what they were doing. The I began hearing these strange banging noises coming from their house. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I knew one thing. It was loud.

I hadn't seen those two boys in a while. I'm seventeen now, my birthday was just last week. April twenty-third. I heard that's the age when you're supposed to get your license. I'm not really sure though, my mom only really teaches me what she calls 'need to know info'.

Currently, I'm sitting out on the porch. The warm San Diego breeze felt good against my pale cheeks. It was a nice day, not hot but not cold either. Probably great weather for the beach. The beach. I scribbled the two words down in the notebook I held in my lap. I started humming along with the soft guitar that was playing from the speakers behind me. Then I realized I wasn't listening to any music. I opened my eyes and searched for the source, finding it in a tree that grew between the neighbors backyard and my own.

It was one of the boys that used to play outside, but he looked as if he hadn't really aged at all. I payed close attention to his fingers as they slid up and down the neck or the guitar, watching how carefully he played. I leaned forward in my chair so I could get a better listen. I was intrigued. I'd never seen someone okay guitar in person before. In a flash, I was stumbling forward out of my chair. A little scream flew out of my mouth before I got the pavement.

"Ow," I groaned and looked down at my knee. That was going to be a nasty bruise in a few minutes.

"Hey! Are you okay?" A boys voice came from outside my screened in safe zone. I heard quick footsteps coming towards me before the creek of the old screen door hit my ears.

"Y-yeah I was just reaching for something and I fell," I was amazed that I even got the sentence out. I had never really spoken to anyone who wasn't my family or a nurse or doctor of some sort. I didn't have any friends either. Unless you count my dad.

"Here let me help you up," he murmured and wrapped his big hands around my small, fragile ones. The boy pulled my up with ease, not letting go until I was seated in my chair once again.

"Thank you," I said in a hushed tone. My voice was always like that. Very mousy and quiet.

"No problem." He answered quickly "I'm Vic, what's your name?"

"Castella," I smiled softly "my name is Castella."

"It-it was nice to meet you Castella," he smiled and started towards the door.

He seemed nervous, like everyone else who had to interact wit me. Everyone was always nervous around me. Nervous they would say the wrong thing and insult me somehow, which I never understood.

"Excuse me, Vic?"

"Yeah?" He answered, turning to face me at the same time.

"Could you do that again?" I asked carefully.

"Do what?" Vic seemed confused by my question. Well of course he was, I forgot to tell him what I wanted.

"Play that song? I'd really like to listen."

"Oh-uh-yeah. Yeah of course," he stumbled over his own words as if they were all trying to come out of his mouth at once.

Vic took a seat across from me and rested the guitar on his right leg. In seconds his fingers were trailing up and down the neck, just like before. I found myself closing my eyes to listen to the soft music that was being played for the sick girl.

That's who I was. The sick girl.

Notes

yes hi