Music
by Carrie Harris

She lay her head on the pillow, pulled the sheets up around her chin, and allowed her mind to run away with the music. Wild horses grew wings and flew as the music soared upward, and fairies came out to play, aided by the trilling of delicate notes. Before long, she was dreaming sweet dreams, taken there by the music that she enjoyed each night.

Two doors away, Jonah rested his violin on his knee, and coughed painfully. The cough was getting worse, he noticed, but while he could play, he could forget the pain. He could use the music to escape to another world, a world where there was no sickness or pain ...

She awoke, refreshed, and went about her day. Before the music came, she had not slept well, but now mornings were a delight to behold, an exciting new adventure waiting to be discovered. The mysterious music that came each night allowed to to fall into a restful sleep, awaking before the alarm to greet the morning.

Jonah looked at the clock beside his bed, and noted that it was now eight in the morning. It was time to get up, but he hadn't the strength. With a deep sigh, he reached for his beloved violin, but even that could not chase away the pain. Mornings were the worst, he had realised. It was in the mornings that he felt the full fury of the disease.

She turned the keys in the lock, and let herself in. It had been a hard day at work, and she was looking forward to a nice long soak in the bath. Her cat jumped up onto the bench to greet her as she flicked the kettle on, so she gave her a quick rub behind the ears before filling her dish. The cat purred softly as she ate her dinner, and Jenny poured hot water into her mug and carried the cup of tea into the bathroom.

Jonah finally pulled himself out of bed at 8pm, weary and sore. He knew he hadn't much longer left, but he also knew that he would be going somewhere better. He picked up his violin, and let the music tell the story of where he was going, and what he would find when he got there.

Jenny curled up on the soft mattress, turned out the light, and let the mysterious music take her away from her day's troubles. She had tried so often to find the source of the music, but it had eluded her. Now she was content to relax and enjoy it, as it lulled her to sleep. Images of eagles soaring high above the clouds filled her head, free and easy and without a care in the world. The music soared and lilted, and Jenny succumbed to the sleep that lapped like the ocean on the sands ...

Jonah put down his violin and glanced at the clock. It was now 11pm, and he knew that he'd best return to bed. He fetched himself a small glass of milk, which was all his stomach would accept these days, and went to bed.

Jenny slept late the next morning, lulled by the security that Saturday always brought. She arose at 11am, then pottered around the place, tidying things up and sorting her clothes for the coming week.

At 11am, Jonah lay in bed, white as a sheet. His carer, Jodie, had come earlier in the day. Alarmed by his ghost-like appearance, she had called for the doctor. By lunchtime, Jonah had been taken to the hospital, his beloved violin lying in its case beside his bed.

Jenny was restless. It was long past time for her to be asleep, but the music that usually lulled her didn't come. She tossed, she turned, she got up and made herself a cup of hot milk, she lay down again. The hours passed, and her restlessness grew, until she could stand it no longer. Her memory harkened back to a time when she, too, had played the violin. Her instrument now lay in the attic, collecting dust, ever since that fateful day ...

By 11pm, Jenny could stand it no longer. She went up into the attic and found her old violin, all covered in dust, the case bearing the bite marks of small rodents. A small tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered ... but she quickly wiped it away, and carried the old violin downstairs and into her bedroom.

Dust flew as she opened the case, and found her violin much as she remembered it, only dustier. She took a handkerchief from her bedside drawer and wiped it clean, then carefully tuned the strings and tightened the bow, waxing it gently. She tentatively put bow to string, and began to play.

Joy flowed through her fingers as they created a cheerful, dancing tune, the love of the instrument anew in her heart. She played out her anxieties, her fear, her grief, her hopes, and her dreams, played out her fantasies and desires, her longing for yesterday, her excitement for tomorrow. The music lulled her, and she soon found her mind wandering away into sleep.

At that very moment, two very different things were happening in two very different places. In one, a few doors down from Jenny, a young man slept peacefully for the first time in years, dreaming of the music that had lulled him.

In another, a doctor was turning off the machine that was keeping Jonah alive.