“I…..I don’t know what t-to say.” I whimpered as I looked back to Kyle and Kade beside me.
“Don’t say anything. Play us something.” Kade chuckled.
“I will.” I agreed. “Just….thank you. This….it means so much. Thank you.” I hurried to hug them each in turn, crying happy tears the whole time.
“You’re very welcome, Love.” Kade whispered as I held him first.
“Totally worth it for the smile on your face, Princess.” Kyle whispered when I hugged him next. I stood and took a breath once I released Kyle, trying to get it together enough to play something for them.
“Can you play this for me Brains?” Cole asked, as he held out three sheets of music. I took them and looked them over, but there was no information except for the bars of music.
“What is it?” I asked, confused. He hadn’t written it, it looked like copied sheet music, with the title blocked out.
“Just something I heard and liked. Can you play it?” He had a smirk on his face, and I knew he and Matt were up to something, maybe even all of them judging by the weird faces Kade was pulling, but it was just music, so I decided to go with it.
“I think so.” I agreed as I took it from him and walked over to the piano. It was beautiful, and I wanted to just take some time to stroke it, caress the keys a little. But the guys were all waiting, and so I knew I’d have to leave my freaky desires until later. Instead I sat, opened the keylid and set my music up in front of me.
“Can one of you change the pages for me when I’m ready?” I asked.
“I can manage that.” Matt volunteered. I smiled as he approached and stood off to the side.
“I’m probably going to be kind of rusty.” I warned, but they all just smiled encouragingly, so I began.
I had never heard the piece Cole had given me to play. It started out light, and playful, reminding me of summer and happy times, then it changed, becoming much more sombre and almost dark, but still so hauntingly beautiful. As I moved onto the last page, the composition picked up again, like the sunshine after a storm, and it ended with light, gentle notes that, to me, felt like a warm, happy ending. I played it pretty smoothly, with just a few small errors. I would have to practise, which I was excited to do. I would definitely work on that piece of music until I got it right. It felt like some wonderful journey, and I had loved it.
“Livy, that was amazing.” Kade said when I stopped and turned to them all. “I’ve been desperate to hear you play since the others told me you could.”
“I need practise, but I liked the song. What was it Cole? Did it sound anything like the original?” I asked.
“It’s on Youtube. You want to watch the video and see what you think?” He offered as he crossed the room and grabbed the remote.
“Ok.” I agreed, excitedly, eager to know what the song actually was.
“Come sit down then.” Cole urged. We all rounded the sofa and took seats in a line, beside each other, me in the middle squeezed between Cole and Kade.
Cole seemed to already have whatever he wanted to show me all set up and paused on a blurred screen. I settled in, ready to take notes on the composition, to help me better play it.
Then the video started, and I lost all thought except for one.
“Th-that’s my Dad!” I gasped as he appeared on the large screen. He walked over and sat at his piano, in the lounge of our little cottage. He was dressed in jeans and a checked shirt. His hair was shorter than I remembered, but his deep set eyes were just as bright blue as I always pictured them. I looked up to Cole, but he was just smiling. He knew it was my Dad, of course he knew.
I could barely breathe as my Dad sat and looked down the camera. He smiled just a little, and I had the completely irrational desire to go to the TV screen and touch his image. Then he spoke and I stopped myself from moving an inch.
“My name is Henry Byrd. Three years ago today my beautiful nine year old daughter disappeared without a trace, and we are still searching tirelessly for any information on her whereabouts.” He placed a framed photo of me on top of the piano before him. It had been taken not long before I was kidnapped. In it I was sitting on a purple checked blanket in the backyard, a book in my lap and a huge smile on my face.
My Dad looked back to the camera, and I held my breath, not daring to make a single sound, in case I missed a word he was about to say.
“Olivia, my sweet girl. I know you’re still out there somewhere, holding on. I don’t know how, but I just do, and I will never give up looking for you. I am just praying that somehow, this video will get to you, because I need you to know that your Mom and I, we love you so much. You will always be out little Livy-bird, and one day, hopefully very soon, you will be where you belong once again, home and in our arms.
“For now, I want to play you a song. I wrote it for you Angel, and I have named it simply ‘Olivia’. It helps me imagine the moment I get you back in my arms, and
