Music box (Karner Blue

[ali]

Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

All was quiet in the Fray household, yet sun rays threatened to peirce the curtains that locked the darkness in. Black hair sprawled across pillows and arms stretched out from underneath sheets. All eyes closed, fluttering as they dreamnt; but one bed was empty. The sheets neatly folded and its foot. Levina Fray had left 5 minutes before 9 am, and was on her way to the park. Being 12, most people would assume that the little blonde girl with her dark pink backpack was going to play dolls with her friends but that wasn't true. Levina Fray didn't like dolls. She liked electricity. Since a young age her adoptive father had taught her how to soulder and connect wires to make things work. On lazy sundays much like this, Levina was not up for causing mischeif like she would any other day of the week, she wanted to tinker with something.

This something she had found was very old. She wasn't sure how old it was, but its porcelin white skin had faded to yellow and had chipped in places around the lid. All the decorative painting had faded to pastel colours of their previous shade and the metal that kept the lid on was dull and musky. Levina's father had found it at a antique shop. A very rare occurence in Panem but where else would old things dug up from the ground be kept? Levina didn't know and she didn't care. All she wanted was to make the box do what it was supposed to do.

By the time she had reached one of the power stations it was nearly 10 o'clock. The sun was pelting all the energy it had on the ground, the trees and grass frail and weak from the blistering heat. Levina sat down, unsure if she should wait. Wait for her best friend. Karner was 13- a year older than her but he was Levina's best friend. Though she was popular with her classmates, Levina could safely say that Karner was her best friend. He had lost his siblings to the Games. At first, Karner had been shy and Levina had thought he was a bit weird. He had an obsession with Butterflies. Something rarely seen in District 3 but Karner liked them anyway. Soon though, Levina found his company nice...and he was helpful when she planned things at school.

Levina sat down on the concrete block and watched the dirty white clouds pass over as she waited.

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[plantix]

My eyes open as I wake up to a new day. The hands of my clock tell me that it's a few minutes before 8AM. I made plans with Levina today, so I have to get ready to meet up with her. She said something about meeting up with her in one of the power stations at ten to help her with something. Sadly, I can't seem to remember much from the discussion we had before... I'm pretty sure she mentioned something about fixing she found, though, it's still a little hazy to me.

After contemplating a bit about what Levina said I get prepared to go outside with some items for the project she's working on. Levina is my best friend, even though she's a twelve year old girl. I just found it really easy to 'click' with her after we've been introduced. I've always liked her company, and the way she handles problems.

I grab my bag and fill it with some equipment before going out. It's just an assortment of screwdrivers, wrenches, bolts and screws, because I can't be too careful with this. By the time I exit the house it was 9AM, the sun just about raised a few hours ago, and by now the heat feels like a tangible item on my skin. The 'Small White' butterflies flutter around at the entrance of my door to greet me. They're actually here to feed on the milkweed I asked mom to plant, but it's nice to see them as my own entourage.

It's been, give or take, an hour or so of walking later and I manage to reach our meeting point. By now, the intensity of the heat grew much larger, causing the leaves and grasses on plants to droop low. I can survive it though, and after seeing those tributes in the Games go through an arena of heat, I'm not going to take our weather for granted anytime soon.

When I approach power stations, I see a figure in the distance sitting down on a block of concrete. At first I think it's an adult, then I realize that the body shape is too small to be a grown-up. That's when I guess that the person I see is Levina. Just to make sure, I call out her nickname so I'll know if it really is her. "Sparks!" I call out to the figure while walking towards it.

[ali]

Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

Levina waited; twisting the music box in her hand, examining the beautiful detail. She wondered what sound it made.

"Sparks!" A familiar voice shouted from a short distance.

Sparks was Levina's nickname. Many called her this. Reason being, was that Levina loved electricty. It was in her name too- Levina meaning Lightning- making Levina an odd kid. She didn't care that people called her this, it was just some fun and to be trutful, Levina liked the nickname. Levina turned, to see the one and only- Karner. His second name, was Blue. Just like his eyes, it was a very pretty blue. The kind of blue that reminded Levina of the color of the sky on a midday summer afternoon. Levina smiled and waved to Karner, who made his way across the grass towards her.

"Hey Karner"She shouted.

Quickly, Levina got to her feet and ran to him. She was excited to show him what her father had found. Sparks grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the concrete block she had just been sitting at, a big smile plastered across her face. If there was one thing Levina liked more, it was showing Karner something cool and exciting. He was not only her best friend, but her accomplice of sorts. He sometimes helped her with pranks they carried out at the school. Karner was great at lights. He could make dead light bulbs work, change the coloring of a working one and create beautiful displays with them. Levina sometimes joked that he should work in the Capitol for the opening ceremony for the Games but she didn't mention it anymore. Especially at a time like this.

"Look what I found!!" She said entusiasticly, gesturing to the music box which sat on the block.

[plantix]

When I shout out to the girl, she replies back with my name. Asking for her nickname 'Sparks' is one of the ways I know if any girl I see in the distance is actually Levina. The reason why people sometimes call her sparks is because I don't have a nickname myself though.

The girl runs to me enthusiastically and in response to her coming towards me, I walk a bit faster in haste for meeting up with her sooner. When we met up together, she takes my arm and takes me to the place "Look what I found!!" Levina said with a huge smile on her face, gesturing to the small box. I look at the object and for a second I'm puzzled. It's a box, just a box. What was special about it?

"A... Box?" I go up to it and notice that there are somethings out of the ordinary with this particular small box. It was made out of porcelin, like the material richer people use for plates, but it was a faded, very yellow color. Not only that, the detailing, paint and lid was faded. When I inspect further, I realize that the paint and the box is chipped in places, mostly around the lid.

I'm in complete surprise of this because for all I know, this could be an ancient artifact. "Whoa... This doesn't look like a normal box... What is it?" I ask Levina curiously. In honesty, I'm intrigues to figure out what it is, and what I can do to help Levina with this object.

[ali]

Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

As the two children apporoached the slab, Karner seemed to give the box a dismissive look. He looked at the box closey, his eyes seemed concerned and confused. Karner looked back at Lavina.

"A... Box?" Karner said with the littlest of interest. It was only a few seconds later after closer inspection did Karner take a step back in surprise. "Whoa... This doesn't look like a normal box... What is it?"

Lavina smiled broadly as she carefully took the porcelin box between her nimble fingers. She turned it thrice in hand watching the sky pass beyond its crisp edges. Lavina looked up at Karner then the box, then Karner. She took a deep breath as if to say everything she knew as well, but she didn't know that much either.

"I don't know Karner....though, my dad says its a Music box....a Box that plays music! I never heard such a thing..." She gasped almost.

She returned her eyes to the box, poking it with the screw drives so the instrumental part came loose enough for it to be pulled from it. The intract metal plate was stunning. Levina smiiled and handed it to Karner so he could looka t it. Levina didn't know how the instrument could make music, all the music boxes in Panem today were broken or digital. And she hoped to make this one work. She wanted to hear the beautiful sound. She wanted to hear what song it played. She smiled at the thought. She paused then looked up at Karner.

"You're good with small things right" She asked hopefully

[plantix]

"I don't know Karner....though, my dad says its a Music box....a Box that plays music! I never heard such a thing..." I look at the box with wide eyes and try to analyze it further. District three produces electronic devices that play music, but they look nothing like what Levina has. I wonder how it turns on... Maybe there's a button, or it's voice activated, or maybe it runs on a battery? I suppose that I should test the safe things first before anything happens to it. Suddenly, I see Levina take out the contraption in the box. It takes me by surprise because I was so distracted by the box itself, I totally didn't notice that she's holding it. She hands me the mechanical part of the box and then she says "You're good with small things right"

I smile at her, holding the metal part in my hand. "Oh course I am! So, I guessing you want me to figure out how it works? " I look down to the metal parts put in my hand, that's when I get to have a good look at the machine part. It has a metal cylinder with bumps on it, something that looks like a row of thin, metal toothpicks, gears, and some screws to keep it all together. The thing is, the bumps on the big metal cylinder look like they've been made into it. I've never really seen anything like this before. Usually, I work with chips and wires, not gears. Still, it should be easy enough for me to figure out. Since this has gears on it, the gears must turn, like in any machine. Sadly, the gears look rather unclean, and so does the cylinder.

Thankfully, I brought those cleaning supplies with me; it's a kind of glass and metal cleaner and a clean cloth. They say that machines have to be completely clean to function properly, that's why whenever I'm helping with a project, I always bring cleaning tools. I let my left shoulder drop and make my bag gently come to the ground. The cloth and cleaning substance is easy for me to find with my free hand, and when I get my materials out, I start cleaning the small contraption. I'm very careful in maneuvering the damp cloth around the cylinder and gears, making them shine. In comparison to the box, this almost looks new. What perplexes me though is that when I try to wipe away the bumps on the cylinder, it doesn't go away. I thought it was a bad case of rust, but clearly it isn't.

Now that it's clean, the gears should function properly. Now I need to turn the gear, the only way I can do that now is to turn it using my fingers. I try it out, by pushing, the gear gently and lightly. My prediction is correct, and I see it turn the bumpy cylinder move, but a sound comes from it. The shock of figuring it out so easily I look up to Levina with wide eyes and ask her "What the?.. Did I just?.." I look down at the contraption again and turned the gear for a second, and the cylinder moves again, causing one of the bumps on it to hit one of the teeth. This makes another clean note radiate from the small contraption.

My jaw drops and I look up in joy as I look at Levinia, looking for her reaction.

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[ali]

Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

I watched as Karner cleaned before he turned the metal cylandier. To both mine and his astonishment a single chime echoed out. My eyes lit up sheer surprise as I watched Karner pause and turn the thing again; this time 2 or three notes were sounded. I looked up at Karner, then at the metal plate I gasped and hugged him. With a laugh I snatched the contraption from his hand and peered at the object- eager to listen to the full melody. I was no musician- I couldn't sing. I was the one who was always out of tune when we sung Panem's National anthem, but I liked listening to music itself.

"Karner you?re a GENIUS!"I exclaim, fitting the plate back into its casing.

For the next 15 minute or so, fixing the object back into its place; oiling the parts so they turn nicely. Work like this thrilled me, I found it ever so interesting. How things ticked and tocked- span and whizzed. Buzzing wires and things like that were all that I held precious to me, ever since I was small I was renouned for cutting wires around the house- purposely of course. My father, well adoptive father, thought it was funny when I tried to make circuts out of wires from lights and the television set. Though my mum, again adoptive, didn't find it so funny. I secured the porcelain plate above the metal contraption. I paused before turning the handle. All of a sudden, music began to play- a beautiful melody.

I sat staring at it as it played a familiar tune. A lullaby that had been sung to me by my older siblings or mother. The song its self was defiantly not as cheery as it seemed, I had learnt this when I grew older. The lullaby's tune was also part of a song about the Hunger Games- such a chilling yet beautiful song. My mother told me that it had been written a long time ago, after the first games began. I didn't like the Games very much. The killing was un-just and I didn't have a very strong stomach. I remembered the games previous to the current had me crying. Unlike most of the years I could remember- there was little relationships in the last games. Except for 3 of the tributes. A boy named Dicentra Gambler from District 6, in my opinion, really liked his District partner- Alikia Lombrary. But on the first day she died..and I cried along with him. Then a few days later another girl- Noelle Pines- who liked Dicentra also died. Then, a few more days later- Dicentra died. It was really sad. It made me think of the song a lot.

As the melody began again- I sung quietly the words.

"Don?'t let me fall away..I don't want to play these Games, for they are children and I'm a man and I can't help but not lose you. Yet here we are I'm dying in your arms and I cant help but think that this is the end but not for us. For love is something stronger than the grim, but love can't take death from life........"

I sighed heavily and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled up at Karner.