Alia was still watching the stage even though Eillya had already sat back down next to Eva.
Eva continued softly, "Like Eillya… you might also be able to bring your guitar to life in the same way. It's not about technique, it's not about skill... it's about heart."
Alia finally turned to Eva. She said nothing, but from the look in her eyes, it was clear that something had just ignited within her. It wasn't just admiration, but a kind of... urge to find out more.
Eillya quietly sipped her Americano, as if nothing had happened.
"I didn't expect you to actually get on stage," Eva said with a satisfied smile, looking at Eillya, who sat with her usual flat expression.
Eillya simply responded calmly, "I just wanted to..."
Alia, who had been quiet for most of the time, finally spoke up. "That was... impressive," she said softly. "Your voice... it's like it brought the lyrics to life."
Eillya didn't answer. She only shifted her gaze, staring out the cafe window which was beginning to reflect the glow of the streetlights.
Eva rested her chin on her hand with a small smile. "That's why I said it can't be explained. If words were enough, maybe everyone could do it."
After that, they decided to head home. The clock already showed nine in the evening. Eva called the waitress and paid for all their orders, as promised. The three of them stepped out of Loralei Coffee Shop, greeted by a night breeze that was starting to grow cold. The streets were beginning to empty.
As they walked together, there wasn't much conversation. It was only when they reached the intersection that Alia slowed her pace.
"My house is that way," she said briefly, pointing to the right.
Eva nodded with a smile. "Be careful on the way, Alia," she said gently, giving a small wave.
Alia returned the gesture with a nod and a thin smile. "Thank you, Eva. Also… for tonight."
She then turned and walked away.
On the way home, the sound of her footsteps echoed alone on the sidewalk. The night sky was calm, and only the streetlights accompanied her.
Her mind kept drifting back to Eillya's voice.
The tone. The rhythm. But more than that... the heart.
"…Can I do it too?" she murmured barely audibly, then looked at her own palms under the light of a streetlamp.
Her hands... which until now only knew how to play "correctly." But not... with life.
When she arrived home, she opened the door to silence. No sound. No greeting. Just an empty house, as usual. Silent and stagnant, just like every day before it.
She took off her shoes and went up to her room. She dropped her bag in the corner and went to the bathroom to wash her face and change into an oversized t-shirt and loose shorts. Afterward, she sat on her bed, staring at her 7-string guitar leaning against the wall.
Slowly she picked it up, sat down, and began to play it without an amp—only the sound of the strings and the plucking of her fingers.
The notes were clean. The technique was accurate. But... empty.
She stopped. She looked at the neck of the guitar, then at her fingers.
"The playing is correct... but why is there nothing inside?" she whispered to herself.
She tried again. A short lick. A simple riff. But still, there was no 'soul' there.
She looked down. Her hand stayed still, gripping the guitar neck.
"…What makes a sound come alive?" she asked herself, remembering Eillya's expression while singing calm, yet deep... and real.
Then, she leaned back against the bed, setting the guitar beside her.
"Eva said I could..."
She stared at the ceiling.
"…but how?"
There was no answer. Only silence.
Slowly her eyes began to close, and she fell asleep with the guitar still by her side.
The next morning, the sun was still reluctant to fully pierce the windows of the Adelaide family home. Alia sat at the dining table with her father and mother, eating toast and sunny-side-up eggs the standard menu of the house. Their conversation was ordinary or more accurately, only as much as was necessary.
"What time are you coming home?" her mother asked while sipping coffee.
"Four o'clock, as usual," Alia replied flatly.
"Working again?" her father added, still staring at the tablet in his hand.
"I don't have a shift today," Alia answered.
There was no follow-up to the conversation. After breakfast was finished, the three of them stood up almost simultaneously, took their respective bags and belongings, and left the house with paths that did not cross. Alia headed to the bus stop, just like every day before. Nothing new. Nothing worth remembering.
Upon reaching the gates of Westeria Girls' High, Alia walked through the schoolyard which was starting to fill with students. Some students waved or chatted with one another, but Alia only gave a small nod to one or two people who greeted her before continuing toward the main building. There was no reason to stop. She headed straight for Class 1-C.
In class, Alia sat at her desk facing the window. She opened a book and read in silence. The bell rang, and lessons began. As usual, she paid attention quietly, noting only the important things, without appearing either enthusiastic or bored.
Until the break bell rang.
Without waiting long, Alia rose from her seat and headed toward the school music studio—the place that had become her sanctuary. During breaks, the studio was rarely used. It was usually quiet. But today... was different.
As she pushed open the studio door, Alia was startled by a booming thunder of drums. The room that was usually calm was now filled with an aggressive rhythm that seemed to have its own heartbeat. She stood for a moment in the doorway, watching a girl with shoulder-length black hair and grey highlights, wearing headphones and looking completely lost in her beat.
The girl was Eris Carlsey from Class 2-A, a name quite frequently mentioned at school. Her reputation? They said she skipped class often, loved gaming, and supposedly once slammed her drumsticks down in the middle of a rehearsal concert because she was bored.
But now, before Alia's eyes, it wasn't the reputation she saw. It was the rhythm. The beat. The energy.
Not just sound, but life.
Alia stepped in slowly, not wanting to intrude, but unable to stem her curiosity.
Eris finally noticed another presence. She stopped, pulling off one earcup of her headphones while turning around.
"...You're a freshman, right?" she asked, her tone casual and slightly raspy.
"Yes," Alia answered shortly.
"Which class?"
"1-C."
Eris spun a drumstick between her fingers and gave a light nod. "This studio is usually empty during break. But you come here often, don't you?"
Alia nodded. "Usually to play guitar... but it seems I wasn't the first one here today."
Eris gave a small smirk. "Relax. It's a public space. As long as you don't move these drums, we're peace."
"That... were you playing a song?"
"Not really," Eris shrugged. "Just playing around with beats. Keeping my hands from freezing up. Sometimes I make new patterns, sometimes I just hit things randomly."
Alia nodded slowly, then looked at the guitar in the room. She picked it up and held it, but did it feel too light, or perhaps too heavy?
"But it looks like... that wasn't random," Alia murmured, mostly to herself.
Eris glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Sorry. I mean, your playing just now... it sounded alive. Like... more than just the sound of drums."
Eris went silent for a moment. Then she gave a thin smirk. "Yeah, sometimes... if you put your ears in the right direction, you can hear more than just the sound."
Alia froze for a moment before finally sitting down on one of the chairs. "I'm looking for that."
"Looking for what?"
"How to make my guitar come alive."
Eris stared at her for a bit, then nodded slowly. "Hmm. If you're really serious, keep trying. But don't force it. Sometimes that sound doesn't come because you tell it to... but because it's waiting."
Alia looked at Eris, trying to understand the deeper meaning of her words. "Do you... play in a band?"
"Used to," Eris answered, standing up from her drum throne. "Now... I don't know yet."
Alia nodded. She was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm Alia."
Eris glanced at her, then gave a thin smile. "Eris."
After that brief exchange, Eris put her headphones back on and looked at Alia while tilting her chin toward a small amplifier in the corner of the room.
"Want to try together?" she asked.
Alia paused for a second. "...Sure."
They began. Eris opened with a simple but stable groove. Her hands moved lightly yet firmly, as if she had merged with the drum set in front of her. Alia began to follow with her guitar chord by chord, lick by lick. Her technique was tidy, her notes clean. She knew what she was playing, and it sounded... correct. But to Eris's ears, something was missing. Like food that looked perfect but had no flavor.
There was no life.
Eris realized it within just a few minutes. But she said nothing. She just kept playing, holding the rhythm, letting Alia finish her part. No criticism, no correction. Just music that wasn't fully alive.
Time passed quickly. Without realizing it, 25 minutes had gone by since they started.
Eris finally stopped, twirled her drumsticks, and stood up. "Class is starting soon, it seems."
Alia looked at the clock on the wall and nodded. "Yes."
They packed up their respective instruments, and before leaving the room, Eris said, "Let's play together again sometime."
"...Okay," Alia answered, briefly.
They parted ways in the school hallway, walking toward their respective classrooms. Alia returned to 1-C and followed the rest of her lessons quietly as usual. Nothing stood out. No one asked about her break.
Finally, the bell for the end of school rang.
Instead of going straight home, Alia chose a different direction. She didn't have a part-time shift today, so she walked toward a small park located quite far from the school, a quiet park facing a calm lake. Still wearing her school uniform, she sat on a wooden bench under a large tree, facing the water that reflected the afternoon sunlight.
She didn't open her book; she didn't check her phone. She just sat in silence.
Watching the surface of the water rippling slightly in the wind. Hearing small birds chirping from the trees. Seeing small children running in the distance with their parents. All of it looked... alive.
But herself?
She looked down, staring at her two hands. Then at her own palms.
"Why can't I?"
Her thoughts kept spinning. She remembered Eris's playing. The thumping of the drums that wasn't just strong, but had a pulse. She remembered Eillya on stage, how that voice enchanted everyone who heard it. She knew how that voice could make someone turn their head, how it could fill a silent room.
She knew the result. But she didn't know the way to achieve it.
"I already know how to play the right notes..."
"But why... is it not alive?"
"Is it because I'm not good enough?"
"Or because I'm just... empty?"
Her head bowed. The wind blew softly, playing with the loose strands of her hair. The sun slowly set, leaving a crimson glow over the surface of the lake.
Alia did not move.
She was still sitting there, silent in her own thoughts, as if waiting for something that might not come that night.
Something... that could make her guitar come alive.