Once, there was a famous pianist who always played in the opera house, alongside the finest opera singers.
Every noble would come to watch, their eyes hungry for perfection, their applause shallow as gold.
But they did not notice the truth.
What they heard the flawless notes, the soaring crescendos was never an accident.
I made sure it always ended exactly as they desired. Every mistake, every slip, carefully erased… or punished.
After the performance, when the chandeliers flickered low and the applause faded into silence, I would speak to my singer.
That was when I would finish my pieces.
Not on the stage. Not with music.
I needed their voice not just to sing, but to bind it, lock it away with my secrets, with the shadows that lived behind every key I touched.
And now that you know…
I will make sure no one ever finds out everything.
Because some things must remain unseen.
Some voices are never meant to escape.
And some notes… once captured, cannot be freed without a scream.