beth greene. (littlegreene) wrote in freedomtownic, @ 2017-11-13 07:01:00 |
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The air was still and undisturbed as Beth moved silently through her apartment. She had always been able to move quietly, often sneaking up on and surprising her siblings when they were younger. These days, she could slip from room to room without so much as a floorboard squeak. It was a stark contrast to the music that had sprung up out of nowhere the day before. People bursting into song in the middle of the street. Beth had enjoyed it, but there was a part of her that was scared too. For as much as she loved music, there was so much truth in it. Things that couldn’t be hidden away or brushed off. And for as sweet and cheerful as she was most days, she had her share of darkness too; an inescapable side effect of her history. Silent feet moved from the living room to her bedroom where she sat down at her keyboard. Without even fully realizing what she was doing, Beth’s fingers began to pull a melody from the keys. “Well I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music, do you? Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift. The baffled king composing Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sang for everyone that she’d lost. Her mother, her father, Shawn; family and friends alike. Everyone she’d ever known. They were all dead...or worse. And when would it be her turn? Beth turned from the keyboard and reached instead for her guitar to continue her dirge. “If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river, at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song. Uh oh, uh oh. It’s the sharp knife, of a short life. Well I’ve had just enough time.” Beth knew it in her heart. If she hadn’t arrived in Knowhere when she did, she’d be dead now. Just another lost soul among millions of others back home. She’d left Maggie. She’d left Daryl. She’d be gone. “Maybe there's a God above, all I've ever learned from love, was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you. And it's not a cry that you hear at night. It's not somebody who's seen the light. It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah.” Despite the tears flowing freely down her face, Beth’s voice was still clear. It carried out her open window and off to anyone who might have been standing near enough to hear. Her tears fell onto the wood of her guitar when she didn’t wipe them away. She rose, still playing and moved closer to the window. A breeze blew inside and her blonde hair almost seemed to flutter in time to the music. “A penny for my thoughts, oh no I'll sell them for a dollar. They're worth so much more after I'm a goner. And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin, funny when you're dead how people start listenin.” Her blue eyes turned up to the sky. It wasn’t the same sky she’d grown up under. But she still liked to imagine her loved ones up there watching over her, no matter where she was. “It's been a long day without you, my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. We've come a long way from where we began. Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. When I see you again.” A long pause, a deep inhale. “The ballad of a dove. Go with peace and love. Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket, save 'em for a time when you’re really gonna need 'em. Oh it’s the sharp knife of a short life.” Her hands fell away from the guitar and she sang the last few notes unaccompanied. “Well I’ve had just enough time. So put on your best, boys. And I’ll wear my pearls.” Still looking at the window, Beth exhaled deeply and finally wiped away her tears. The three songs included in this scene are: Hallelujah, If I Die Young, and See You Again. |