Stitches of Song {Shrimp}

[kap]

OLIVER WREN

Music creates beauty
Music creates peace
Music creates joy

---

The opportunity to use my guitar had finally come along, as it’d been a couple of weeks since I’d had the chance. I truly had a withdrawal from music when I was busy and unable to play it. Luckily, I finally had the chance to play a song I’d written a while back. I’d wandered outside of my home, guitar in hand, and sat on the front porch, in the old rocking chair, next to the door. I used a couple of pieces of tape to secure my sheets of music in front of me, as I didn’t want the wind to blow it away. Then, I took my guitar, and began to play.

Today, the music flowed nicely, which surprised me, since it’d been so long since any tunes had emerged from my now slightly dusty guitar. As I played, a smile crossed my face. It always made me happy to make music. Jory and my guitar were the two biggest sources of happiness in my life, and I had one of them, the guitar, with me at the moment, so that cheered me up from the stressful week I’d been having prior to coming outside on this sunny yet chilly morning.

As I sat there, playing my music, I heard someone’s feet crunching on the thin layer of snow that covered the ground in District Eight. I looked up from my sheet music and stopped playing for a moment. When I saw who it was, it made me realize that I’d completely forgotten about the day’s plans. It was certainly a good thing that I’d stayed home, as I’d planned on having Merina, a local, freelance embroiderer, drop off a project that I’d had her complete for me. It was a gift for Jory, too, so it was important to me. I stood up from my seat and placed the guitar down, approaching Merina.

I hoped that the work Merina did this time lived up to what she’d done for me in the past. I was sure it was just as good of quality as the things she’d done before, but since this was particularly important to me, it was a higher priority for it to be pristine. The project I’d had her do for me was the embroidery of Jory’s name on a jacket that I’d sewn for him. I was sure she’d done a fantastic job, but I had to be sure.

“Hello, Merina! I hope you’re doing well today,” I said to her, cheerily. “How did the project turn out?” I then proceeded to inquire. I hoped that the answer would be a positive one, and I also hoped that she was doing well. This meant that I needed two positive answers, which I knew wasn’t always possible. One could always hope for the best possible outcome, though, right? Surely being an optimist wouldn’t be my downfall in this situation. I gave her a smile when I asked her how things had turned out. Maybe that would help ensure that she was in a good mood today, too. Then, I’d have a higher chance of everything going as planned.

---

520 words