Unwritten Chords Novels & Stories

"Okay, if that's the case, put away that look on your face. I want you to make sure our wedding goes smoothly." He then turned and left without looking back. I trembled as he slammed the door on his way out. When I looked up, I realized my face was already wet with tears. "Ring!" It was the sound of my phone ringing. I looked down and realized it was Henry's best friend, Grant Sawyer. "Julia, I heard Henry's marrying Nina? Do you need my help this time?" The moment I decided to break up with Henry, I had never considered the possibility of going back to him.

Hastily, I grabbed the guitar again and looked down at it, to distract myself. "I think we should switch it to F#m, C#m, E, A… in the chorus I mean… so…" I played the chords, improvising a strumming pattern. When I looked up, she was smiling slightly, "What?" I asked slowly. "That was F#m, E, A, C#m…" She said grinning,"Nervous?" I was speechless, how had I played the wrong chords? "Erm… accident…" I stammered which only made her smile brighter.

Maximus stood nearby. Did not look. But the moss beneath him curled. Occasionally, cadence returns through song alone. But through a body no longer asking to explain itself. Kehra (new chord) Three notes. One missing. I sang them slow enough that the fourth returned before I called it. Echoform shimmered. Then shimmered again. But softer. It was matching. Not me. The Grove. That means the chord isn’t mine anymore. It belongs to what’s grown in the pauses between my breath.

The click of the latch sounded louder than it should have, like a gavel sealing my fate. Cale walked to the window, his hands sliding into his pockets as he stared out at nothing. The silence was unbearable, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on me. I stood in the middle of the room, hugging my arms, a barrier between us that felt far too thin.