flying away.

Flying Away

~~~

ohio - king princess 
not for me - perfume genius

~~~

Viola felt most at ease when her feet were planted firmly on the ground. If she was perfectly balanced, so too would her thoughts. She could plan for every outcome and every contingency, before she took any action. She picked up her violin and nestled it between her chin and her shoulder. She knew where to place her fingers; on what strings they should land; how to hold the bow so it remained perfectly straight; and how to move her hand so the bow danced across the strings.

Controlled, subtle, and delicate - that was what Viola knew. She hoped that Sonata would step in tune with hers. 

A giggle came from outside, echoing through the empty rooms of Viola’s home. The loud, but quickly shushed laugh that followed rang clear and unmistakable. Viola clenched her fist around her bow - why did he have to follow the beat of her drum? 

Sonata and Gita made no attempts at being inconspicuous, thundering around the main house as they believed Viola to be resting, and rightfully so; an almost midnight sky unveiled the lustre of the stars not often seen by anyone other than night owls. When she heard Sonata enter his bedroom, Viola placed her violin and bow back in its stand and took a deep breath. It will be fine, she repeated in her mind like a mantra, without realising that she already steeled herself for the confrontation to follow.

Seeing Viola standing in the tree trunk’s door frame left Sonata and Gita like cervablooms in the headlights. Wide-eyed and frozen in place, only Gita managed to thaw herself as she felt a fire igniting in her chest, a familiar sensation that overtook her when she needed to stand her ground, even if she was not the person who had something to prove.

Frustration was palpable in the air. “Where have you been?” Viola’s raised voice not only caught Sonata and Gita by surprise, but also Viola herself. “You know it’s past your bedtime.” 

Sonata groaned; this was not something she could hide from. “I… didn’t wanna go to bed!” Sonata crossed his arms and averted her eyes, muttering under her breath, “I thought you would be asleep by now…” 

As calm as she seemed, Viola felt her cheeks change colours. Gita, not wanting this place to go up in flames, stepped in, “Nah, don’t blame her.” She raised her hands in front of her, “It was my fault, promise. We stayed out for way longer than I intended.” 

Viola’s eyes turned to Gita; puddles of bluish anger, concern and pain were all she could see. Viola focused her attention back on the agitated seeker, “You know I don’t want you being out so late, especially when I don't know where you’ll be going or who you’ll be meeting.” 

“Yeah,” Sonata nodded her head towards Gita, “But you know who I’m with! I’ll be fine!” 

Gita felt backed into a corner as the tempo rose around her. Before she could say anything to ease the situation, Sonata cut her off. 

“I just wanted to do something different!” Exasperated words spilled from Sonata’s wavering lips, “I’m sick of singing! I’m sick of doing the same thing every day!” 

Hurt. “Sonata, you know it’s not safe to hang out with people without my -” 

He felt like a broken record, “But I’m with Gita! She wouldn’t leave me alone even if I wanted her to!”

Viola shot Gita a pointed glare, which the latter met with some hesitation. Rushing water clashed with blazing fire, leaving steam in its wake. When it dissipated, however, a moment of stillness revealed a shadow of doubt in Viola’s eyes. “Hey…” Gita’s voice trembled, “I would never -” 

Viola ignored Gita, “Still, you can’t just be” - she struggled to find the right words - “You’re still a kid!” 

“No, I’m not!” Sonata stomped out of his room, but not before making one last statement, “I’m old enough to make my own decisions!” She ran to her hidey-hole, shaking with irritation. Silence fell over a conductorless orchestra.

🎻 🎻 🎻

“Viola…” 

“Why? Why would you do that?” Viola made no effort to hide her anger. 

“I was gonna tell you, but -” 

“You know I’ve been trying to help him find his voice.” 

Gita balled her fingers into a fist. The familiarity of this conversation was not lost on her. “Or are you trying to give her yours?” 

Viola took a step back, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Gita stepped forward, “She’s been telling me how much she hates singing. Why do you make her do it?” 

Viola rubbed her temples, “He’s got potential!” 

“Yeah,” Gita crossed her arms, “And she’s scared she won’t reach up to yours.” 

“I don’t know why we’re even arguing about this,” Viola turned her back as she exhaled, “Please stop undoing the work I’m putting in.” 

“I’m just teaching her how to have fun.” Gita tried her hardest to control her tone, “She’s older now. You don’t have to hover over her all the time!”

Viola felt whatever backbone she mustered give way. She resorted to supporting herself on a nearby tabletop. 

“Please... “ Viola’s voice softened. “He’s all I have, okay? Please don’t take him away from me…” 

“What?” Tension that weighed on Gita’s shoulders faded. “I wouldn’t take him away from you… What makes you -” 

“Just… stop. Stop,” Viola pleaded, “Please… go.”

“No,” Gita moved towards Viola. Every step felt like the ground shook underneath her, “We can talk about this, Viola. I don’t wanna leave while you’re -” 

“You already have!” Beat. Gita stopped in her tracks. “You can do it again.” 

Gita stormed out without saying another word, not wanting to lose face or her composure. Viola, struggling to catch her breath, was left in an uneasy quiet, as if she was being asked to play a composition she couldn’t understand.

🎸 🎸 🎸

As hurt as she was, Gita couldn’t bring herself to leave without checking up on Sonata. She changed course and headed to Sonata’s hideout, a dying tree trunk given a whole new lease on life as a small cubby hole. Gita peered her head through the carved doorway. Sonata was wrapped in a warm blanket surrounded by his pebblings, who did their best to comfort her. 

“Sonata, kiddo…” Sonata turned her head away. Gita continued coaxing her to open up, “Come on now, it’s just me.” 

Sonata, relenting, made some space in her bed and let Gita sit beside her. He picked up Bongo and lightly tapped the tambourine on its head, eliciting a curve-to-curve grin from the cute pebbling. “Why can’t she let me do what I wanna…” 

Gita sighed, “You know she just worries about you, right?”

“Yeah…” Sonata’s voice petered out as he tried to think of a comeback, “But I’m not a kid anymore! I can take care of myself!” 

Gita looked at Sonata, curled up in a blanket; she wiggled her finger around, causing the pebblings around her to march around happily. Oh, kid. You’ve got a lot to learn. “She just wants what’s best for you.” Brash, impulsive… Gita could see a bit of herself reflected in Sonata. But for someone like Viola… from experience, it was better to compromise rather than to let fire burn bridges too soon.

“Kiddo, you mean so much to her.” What that must feel like, Gita didn’t know.

“Yeah, yeah, I know…” Sonata pouted, “I feel bad for biting back, but it’s annoying, you know?” 

She was already so eager to fly away. Was Gita the same? Was the ground always so boring?

“But your mom...” Gita felt her heart rend, though it showed not on her face. “She loves you more than anything. That must mean something, yeah?”

Sonata sighed, and said nothing more. He looked down at Bongo and kept tapping at its tambourine. 

“Look, you should talk to her, okay?” Gita got up from the bed and looked outside. Immediately, she was hit by the aroma of a cake being baked. “Judging by the fact that she’s cooking this late at night, she’s probably getting a bit stressed.” 

Sonata nodded, but turned to Gita, “Can you come with me? I… I don’t know how to… start...”

Gita gave Sonata a pat on the shoulder, “You know, I wish I knew.”

 

Furrowed her brows, the seeker brainstormed intently as to how she could break the tension. “Ah!” He rummaged around her room, lifting blankets, pillows and pebblings unlike until she pulled out a piece of paper. “Look!” Sonata flipped the paper around to Gita, revealing a crayon drawing of Viola playing her violin.

“Dude, that’s, like, amazing. She’s gonna love that!” Even Gita couldn’t help but smile.

Looking around him, Sonata spotted Bongo waddling up to her to get a closer look of his drawing. She picked up the curious pebbling and placed the drawing atop its tambourine, before offering it to Gita.

“Can you help it get to where Viola is?”

🎶 🎶 🎶

Successfully escorting Bongo to its destination, Gita left the pebbling to make its way to Viola, flying away before the guide could notice her. Endearing as Bongo was, it didn’t exactly have the best balance, toppling over by Viola’s feet rather than nudging into her lightly. Viola, baking trays in hand, looked down and saw a distraught pebbling. “Well, now, what are you doing here?” 

Viola set her cakes down on the bench and helped Bongo to its feet. She placed the tambourine back on its head, noticing a piece of paper that seemed to cling onto it. “What’s this?” 

She flipped the paper around, revealing Sonata’s drawing. Her heart immediately softened at the sight, “Oh, my sweet Sonata.” 

He must be feeling hungry, Viola thought. 

❤️❤️❤️

A freshly iced slice of cake in one hand and Bongo in the other, Viola flew down to Sonata’s cubby hole. At the same time she stopped outside of the tree trunk to catch her breath, Sonata left his hideout to see where Bongo was, scaring both Viola and Bongo. The surprised looks on the guide and pebbling’s faces made Sonata giggle, a pleasant, silvery sound that caused Viola to laugh along with him.

With the air a bit lighter, Viola took the initiative, even if she couldn’t find the exact words she needed to say, “Thank you for the drawing.” She punctuated her sentence with a smile. “I’ve gotta find some place to hang it up, I think!”

Sonata blushed, “Heh…” His attention turned to the slice of cake in Viola’s hand. “Is that -”

Somehow forgetting that she had baked a whole cake, she quickly offered the slice over to Sonata. “I figured you’d be a bit famished…” 

Before taking the cake, however, Sonata bowed his head, “I’m sorry…” 

Viola set the plate down and did her best to give Sonata a hug, “I’m sorry too.” 

💔💔💔

Gita lounged on a tree branch, just out of view from both Sonata and Viola. As she scribbled random doodles on her arm with a marker, she felt Kaz crawl out from one of her pockets. “Oh, sorry. I forgot you were there.” The slabster said nothing, but judging from his expression, he seemed to be fine with it.

Her eyes focused back on the pair when she saw them hug. Good, Gita thought, At least one relationship is being repaired tonight. 

Putting the cap on her marker, she slipped it back into her pocket. Happy as she was for Sonata, well… 

“Hang around, will ya, Kaz?” Gita removed the slabster from her arm and placed it on the branch. “Report back later, yeah.”

With instructions given, Gita flew away.  Maybe one day, she hoped against hope, that she could be where the young seeker stood - forgiven, by her side.

What wishful thinking, Gita chuckled. It was impossible for a guitar to accompany a violin when performing a sonata, after all...