Page 20 of Our Little Moments

I’m infinitely grateful for my magic. I used it for years to help my family, fixing broken things so they wouldn’t have to pay for it, and helping with everything I could do so they could save money.

It doesn’t take long for the anger to turn into sadness, and I sit on the ground, trying to calm down.

I just want a peaceful life. I don’t want to keep being so stressed in my own home. I don’t want to have so much pressure on my shoulders. I just want to be able to breathe.

Tears slide down my cheeks, and I try to wipe them away.

The moon’s glowing above me, making everything around me seem like a fairytale—the glowing trees in the dark, the stars barely peeking out, and the water below reflecting the light.

I feel like the moon, and I wish I could stop glowing. To be invisible. Unnoticed.

Maybe I sound like a brat. To so many people, this would be a dream.

But for me, it’s a nightmare. I just want friends who want me for me and not my magic. I want the world to stop asking meall of these questions like I’m a genius who has all the answers. I just want the world to stop for a minute and let me breathe.

A noise floats around so quietly I barely hear it. Curiosity gets the best of me as I wipe away my tears and listen closely.

I hear it again, and I realize it’s a melody. I turn around to find a piano behind me, hiding amongst the trees. It wasn’t there when I rushed here. Maybe I was so angry that I missed it, or my eyes were too blurry or—

Glowing green butterflies float around it, and I know now that I didn’t miss it. It wasn’t there when I got here.

I created it. The butterflies are my signature, in a way. Always have been. They show up every time I use my powers.

Cautiously, I walk closer to the piano. I know my magic won’t harm me, but I don’t remember using it to create this. The urge to sit down and play is as strong as my need to breathe.

This is ridiculous. I’ve never played piano a single day of my life.

Still, before I know it, I’m sitting and breathing heavily. A big part of me is afraid of someone hearing me—I ran away for a minute to be invisible, after all. But I know no one will. I’m on top of a cliff, it’s after midnight, and this is a spot that’s pretty hard to find since it’s hidden by such a huge forest.

I smile when I hit the first note. Then the second. Then the third.

I keep playing.

I know I probably suck, but I feel so free. Like a butterfly flying for the first time. It’s like something inside me has been unlocked. I don’t have to pretend. There’s no pressure. This moment is for me and me only.

I come back and play again the next night. And again. And again. And again . . .

I’m snapped back into reality so hard that it’s like I’ve been physically punched. God, this hurts.

I miss those days. Playing the piano alone on that hill became my safe place as a teenager. I made promises to myself that I’d never stop playing it. I broke all of them.

Now I’m breathing heavily, and I want to cry. I can’t believe I allowed myself to forget, to let that part of me slip away.

I had everything together when I found music. There was never any doubt in me that it was forme.

But I lost sight of it. I went all in on my career in the tournament, set new goals, made a new plan. And now . . . What do you do when every box has been marked? When every goal has been achieved? When the path you were following halts to a sudden stop and there’s nothing more to chase?

I’m Stella Brookstone. I’m never a mess. I always have a plan. I always have everything together—

A warm hand slips in mine, and I find Adrian’s eyes again. I’m about to walk away—run, more specifically—to gather myself, to wipe away these emotions, when his gentle eyes dive into mine.

“You can let it out, Stella.”

I wish the statement didn’t crack me in half. I wish such a simple phrase didn’t affect me so much. I wish I didn’t trust this man as much as I do.

But I do, and tears escape before I can hold them back.

Adrian

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