Somewhere, over....

Sara discovers the person in this video and shows off why she’s so enthused. Scott watches in the wings while crying a bit.

(#00184)

“Isn’t she awesome?” Jubes said after the video on her laptop wound to a halt.

“Uhm,” sais Sahra. “I… would say she’s more… technically correct.”

“Are you kidding? She played it note perfect.”

“Yes, dear, but not emote perfect. Here, I can show you. Come, Gladys.”

Scott, overhearing in the hallway as he passed, slowed to a halt and peeked into the music room. It always amused him when Sara treated inanimate objects as living people. He’d even hung around to hear Sara play once in a while.

But he’d never heard her Play.

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a wistful song, full of longing and sadness. You need to know an instrument, heart and soul, to capture that. Otherwise, it isn’t music. It’s just a bunch of notes that go together. Listen.”

This wasn’t note-perfect. It wasn’t exactly the same. But what it was was soul-rending. It got to every last speck of lonely-and-wanting in his inner self and filled it with bittersweet hope. He stayed rooted to the spot, mesmerized. Traitor eyes leaking at the corners.

This was why Sara loved the harp and, amazingly, why the harps loved her back. This was how she took in hundreds of dollars in change at bus stations, and why she made a living at wedding bands. This… was making him really cry.

He wiped his face and heard, “Yeah, I know, right?”

He almost hissed out, “Don’t you dare say a word,” but noticed that Todd’s face was running wet, too.

“Liquid pride,” he whispered with a half shrug. “She can make you forget th’ world’s so bad.”

They stayed in the hall until the last note faded and the spell broke, care of Jubilee’s gum snapping. Both hurriedly wiped their faces before coming in with applause.

“Day-umn,” said Jubes. “That was… whoa.”

Sara, a little tear-streaked herself, patted her face and smiled. “And that’s the difference between technically and emotively correct.”

“How do you do that?” Jubes demanded.

“In all things that grip the soul, embrace them, enthusiastically.” She straightened herself as she stood and made a beeline for Todd. “I do believe we’re late for our date?”

“Worth it,” said Todd.

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