Piano
The hallway was dark, lit only by the moon that seemed to peek ever so gently through the grime covered windows on the wall. Across from them were portrait paintings, which too had a thick layer of dust clinging to every surface which heavily desaturated the otherwise vibrant colours underneath. The corridor was silent, save the padded footsteps Edgar's boots made as he walked along the thick red carpet. His glasses seemed to fog every time he exhaled, which wouldn't normally be that often, although seeing as he had been walking through what he thought to be an countless number of hallways and rooms, each slightly darker than the one before it, he had begun to breath deeper and faster as he lost track of the direction he had come from. His memory of each room was fond, much unlike his recollection of where it was.
The library he had passed through just moments ago was home to hundreds if not thousands of books, each containing stories that had no resting place other than within the pages on those very shelves. The roof was so high, Edgar's neck felt sore after a mere minute of looking up at it, though that didn't stop him as his eyes had been glued to the magnificent mural that spread itself across the ceiling.
The ceiling above him now paled in comparison to the one in the library as it displayed no more than planks of wood holding up the room above. The hallway ended with a small staircase that tightly spiralled upwards. Edgar grabbed hold of the skinny railing that lined the outskirts of the steps. The black metal was cold and rough, rusted from years without polish. As Edgar's boots climbed up the narrow steps, the sound they made resonated through the hallway, cutting through the silence like an owls hoot in the night. The stairway was short, and as Edgar's head poked out from the cutaway in the room above, he felt a chilly breeze that sent a shiver part way up his spine.
The room he entered was a large dome in shape, coupled with gold embroidered engravings above and beautiful marble patterns below. Half of the rooms walls were large windows, presenting a stellar view of the Parisian skyline. Many of the windows had been shattered, cause enough for the breeze, giving the indication of vandalism in their past. Due to the the spacious windows, the elegant shine of the moon gave a heavier presence than in the hallway below, lighting up what stood in the middle of the floor.
A piano, ebony in colour, lay there invitingly so. Edgar approached it to get a better look. The piano was radiant and reflected the moonlight with relative ease. The lid was propped open, allowing for the strings and cast iron plate inside to glisten in the light. The keys were a perfect contrast without any discolouration whatsoever. The black keys were topped with a deep leather while the white ones shined in an ivory glow.
Edgar was in awe of the instrument before him. Never had he heard of a boy of his age seeing a piano so large. While admiring the dark wood of the frame, Edgar began to grow curious. He then noticed that unlike the rest of the objects he'd seen in the mansion, the piano presented not a single piece of dust. It was as if the piano had been placed there only moments ago, ridding itself of the anguish of time the rest of the building had endured.
Edgar pulled out the large bench that was hiding beneath the keys and poked the large cushion before sitting down. His feet hovered just off the floor and gave enough room for his legs to slightly swing back and forth. Edgar held out his index finger above a white key that lay between a pair of black ones. He stared at it for a moment, keeping still. Edgar lowered his finger and just before he made contact with the creamy white key, a note much higher in pitch sounded quietly. Edgar was spooked off the bench and fell backwards onto the ground, his legs now residing where his bum had before.
Edgar rose and looked for the key that sounded. It couldn't have been the one he was looking at, for he hadn't touched it. The sound he had heard was almost too feint to remember clearly and was rapidly escaping his memory. Edgar once again sat on the bench, held his finger above that very same key, and locked his eyes to it. He sat there for a moment, half expecting to hear another pitch uncalled for. He started to move his finger ever so slightly towards the key and before he made it to the same place he had before, he quickly looked to the right in order to catch the stray key. A sound came again, this time much lower, and scared him once more. Edgar jumped off the bench and stood from the piano, staring at it in fear.
He stood there for a moment, not knowing what to think. Then he spotted a corner of a sheet of paper, reaching out from under the lid of the bench. Edgar looked to the piano again, then back to the bench before approaching it. He lifted the lid of the seat and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside. Inscribed on the top of the page was the title, Fantasie-Impromptu. The notes below it were very plentiful, rising and falling multiple times per line. Edgar had read music before, but nothing as intricate as this. Edgar had forgotten about the interruptive pitches that scared him previously, and sat down upon the bench once more in front of the keys. He lay the sheet on the music rack and peered at the keys once more.
Edgar sat still, almost watching the piano for movement. Oddly, he felt as if the piano had been doing the same. He looked up at the sheet music and figured out the first note. A strong octave played by the left hand. Edgar scanned the piano, found the two black keys, and moved his hand closer. His pinky and thumb ever so slightly approached the pair.
Hand outstretched and fingers tight, he thrusted his hand down and made contact with the leather. The keys pounded the bottom of the keyboard so fiercely that Edgar could hear the sound of the two hammers, deep within the cavernous inside of the piano, collide with the thick strings with great force. The notes sounded strong and resonated throughout the dome. Seconds later, the piano began to play. Notes flew out of the frame of the piano as keys began to pull themselves down. Hammers were hitting strings before the keys even hinted at a command and the pedals below seemed to cringe at the mercy of the written song. Edgar jumped back and stood a few feet away while he watched in fear. The piano continued. Gradual crescendos and deep tenutos, soaring melodies that hugged a structural deep bass. The piano kept going, playing and playing through the song until all at once, it stopped.
The final notes bounced against the walls before lingering in an elongated reverberation. Edgar stood there trembling with such a lack of breath that his glasses finally had a chance to defog. Without an inclination of what to do next, Edgar began to shuffle towards the stairs, keeping his body facing the instrument. It wasn't as if the instrument was of a danger to him, but he wasn't prepared to let it out of his sight in his presence. Once he reached the staircase, he quickly turned and puttered down the thin metal spiral until he was gone.
The sound of Edgar's footsteps could be heard for a few moments until they disappeared with him. The piano lay there alone, giving a few moments rest before the sheet of music slid back into the stool before it slid underneath the keyboard once more. The dust that was absent previously accumulated almost instantly as the piano deteriorated to a common state for its age. The wood withered, the leather tore, and the bright ebony keys grew dull of their once radiant glow. All alone, the piano lay. Waiting once more for another opportunity to be played.
