Dominic’s fingers pressed the keys, playing the Für Elise lullaby he had been teaching me for weeks. The notes felt softer today. I played it so many times that my fingers started to remember, but then I stopped.
“Begin again,” he said quietly.
I tried. I placed my fingers on the keys, but now they felt stiff, like they weren’t mine. My wrist trembled. My mind wandered.
“Focus, Lenore.”
I blinked.
Outside the window, I saw the swing moving again, faster now, though there was no wind. The walnut tree creaked, like old wood settling, but it sounded too much like a voice.
“She used to play that song,” I said, keeping my eyes on the tree.
Dominic paused. His fingers hovered above the piano, motionless.
“I know,” he said. “She was very good.”
“She still is,” I whispered. “She just forgot.”
There was a long silence.
Then, from upstairs, something fell. A dullthud.
I turned toward the hallway.
Dominic didn’t move. He looked straight ahead, jaw tightening slightly, like he was trying not to hear it.
“She’s alright,” he said too quickly.
“But—“
“Keep playing, Lenore.”
My fingers returned to the keys, but the notes came out louder. The lights above us flickered. Just once. But it was enough.
Dominic stood. “That’s enough for today.”
I looked up. “But the lesson just started.”
His face twitched. “It’s over now. Go get some rest.”
He left before I could ask anything else.
I stared at the piano keys. My hands trembled, blood stained my little hands, and I hadn’t felt spilling until now. A broken scream tore from my throat. I blinked, once, then twice, and screamed again, louder. But when I opened my eyes… There was nothing.
No blood. No sound. Just silence.
Daddy woke me up in the middle of the night. His hands were shaking.
He didn’t say much, he just wrapped me in my blanket and whispered,“We have to go.”
His voice didn’t sound like his anymore. It was tight and thin, like it had been wrung dry. He was sad. And he was never sad.
Outside, I could hear a lot of sirens, like in one of the movies he likes to watch. I didn’t know who they were coming for. I didn’t ask. I opened my eyes as much as I could. I was still sleepy. The hallway behind us flickered in shadows, lit only by the blue and red flashes from outside. As Daddy carried me, I saw something swinging at the top of the stairs.
A thick rope.
Something was hanging there. Something heavy. Something that didn’t move at all. I couldn’t see what exactly, but I didn’t need to.
