Soundz

[WP] Music has the power to perform miracles. Summon storms, heal wounds, teleport you to any location, the possibilities seem endless. All it takes is experimentation with different musical notes and instruments. You have discovered a tune on your banjo that does something remarkable, and strange.

*****

The air of the island sang, and the residents played and danced ceaselessly. Ever since my people mastered the details of rhythm- mastered to such an extent as to be able to bend the universe itself to its will- life had been joy and sunshine. Those days of discovery were only just before I was born, so I had only ever heard stories of the days where we once had to worry about food, shelter, water, and sickness. Now even the ocean itself dances to the music of the drums and horns.

The sea rose in bright twirling pillars, and arched back over itself in misty arches and curves. Throughout the day people would walk up to the sea, hum it a tune, and pull fruitful drinks from the sea water, or have a fish leap from the sea only to land in their hands as a cooked meal.

Life was perfect.

Which was my problem.

Most of my people were content to laze and play in the world of perpetual light, but I was not among them. I wondered, "Is this all there is?"

The stories of old were far more fascinating to me than the world of infinite and plenty. There was a time- not too long ago- when things had sustenance. A meal was an accomplishment, an illness a grave concern to life. Life meant something.

I had played the instruments of course, I had used the flutes, the drums, the shaker sticks... but I did not seek the miracles as my fellow people did. I sought out purpose. What was beyond the island? That is the question I asked. However, the music could only provide what I could imagine.

How could it provide me with something which I could not myself identify?

I tried to worm the answer to this question from the music, however the instruments of the island seemed capable of only providing trivial material pleasures.

So, I came to the conclusion I would need a new instrument. But what?

Music was as old as time for as far as I knew. What chance did I have of creating something new? I still had to try, of course.

This turned out to be a fruitless pursuit. I had not the skill of hand, or creativity of mind to make anything capable of producing miracles. I tried banging sticks, tearing leaves, colliding rocks, even running water over fruits. The sounds I created were rough, harsh, and not at all fitting of the word music.

I distanced myself from the people of the island as I pursued more and more outlandish things. Or perhaps they distanced themselves from me. I stayed further and further from the beaches, choosing instead to dwell in the forested side of the island, at the tops of the rock cliffs which looked out over the infinite sea.

Or so we thought the sea was infinite. I had always thought there was something out there, something beyond the island. But that was only just a belief, for which I had no evidence.

This is why I was so astounded the day that something appeared out in the sea. A large shadow on the horizon- tall and pointed- rocking with the waves. I thought it one of the large creatures of the sea at first, but it drew closer to the island, and then closer still. To my amazement, it was a structure of wood. The homes on the island had been made of wood, but none of us had ever used it to set to sea.

I was so curious, I wanted a better look... and the wooden thing was moving so painfully slow. So, I took out my flute.

Well, in all of my experiments with music I had become quite proficient with the instruments we did have. I had to know what to replicate. So, it was a very simple matter to play a tune into the flute and guide the sea to bring the wooden thing closer.

I had been too hasty, however, too overcome with curiosity. The sea matched my excitement, it danced to my music and flung itself upward in a glorious pillar. This column of water was nearly as large as the island itself, and towered up far higher. It cast a shadow over me and the island. It was a far more impressive display than anything I'd seen before, no one had ever moved so much of the sea at once and I surprised even myself.

Unfortunately, the sea brought the wooden thing- a boat, I now know- up with it. It must have been a quarter of a league up into the air. And, of course, as I took the flute from my mouth in shocked amazement, the water fell back to the sea in a torrential rush. The spray hit me like a wave, drenching my robe through.

The ship, too, fell. It had been launched in a trajectory towards the island and it crashed into the cliffs down below in a flash of splintering wood and earthshaking force. There was a cry as well, the shout of a man. That shout still haunts me to this day when I think of it.

For a moment I was too dazed to do anything, I simply stood at the top of the cliff and looked down at the wreckage. Not a few moments prior, I had never known the existence of a ship. Yet there I stood, just having destroyed one.

There were distant shouts from the other side of the island. Of course the event had been noticed. And, in that moment, a sense of immense greed overcame me. This was my discovery.

I climbed down the rocks. I would be the first to investigate this visitor from the infinite. For back then I still did not know of the rest of the world. The cliffs were steep, but far from vertical and I was able to get down without issue.

The largest portion of the ship was lodged halfway down the cliff- looking back now I believe it was the captain's quarters. With my knowledge back then, however, I knew nothing. I did not understand the sails, the large draping white cloths which danced across the cliffs in the wind. Nor did I understand the chests, the cannons, or really any of what I saw.

Even the first corpse, to me was simply a mystery. I had never seen more than a drop of blood in my life- any injury could be played away with a simple tune. So, when I saw the strange, mushy red form cast against a rock I investigated it with slightly detached curiosity. After a moment of inspection, however, when I saw the man's face- or what was left of it... that is when I recoiled. I stepped back. I slipped. I stumbled down the cliff until I hit a wooden floor.

There was another dead man there, it was the interior of the captain's quarters. I recognized a bed, a chest, nothing beyond that. I was going to climb back up the cliff. However, voices at the top steeled my nerves. I had to seize the chance to explore this mystery before the other people of the island could steal away anything precious.

I glanced through the structure- quickly looking over the twisted body of the man inside- and I saw something, caught and tangled in the blankets on a twisted cot.

I walked over, curious. I had no understanding of any of the items around me, however when I saw the item in the cot it drew me near. A circle and a stick, really, nothing more. However, its construction struck some nerve deep inside of me. My brain recognized it as an instrument.

I'd never seen anything of the sort, but its construction was very distantly reminiscent of our drums. So I took it.

That is when the other island folk arrived. Their voices just at the top of the cliffs.

I did not want to speak with them, nor answer their questions to which I would not have the answers. So, I climbed further down the cliff- to the point below the wreckage. I knew there was a small cave where I could sit, undisturbed.

It was difficult to descend with the strange object. But I made it. Then I sat in that small cave, the instrument laying out flat on the surface in front of me. It had strings. None of our instruments had anything of the sort.

I reached a tenuous hand to feel at the instrument, to pull at one of the strings. It released and let out such a foreign sound that I gasped with delight. That confirmed it, the object was indeed an instrument.

The sound was so unique, how had I never even come close to replicating something like it in all of my trials? It was no matter, I had a new instrument and I was determined to see what miracles it could perform.

I plucked at the strings more, in succession this time. Each one produced a different sound. I played around a bit more, identifying the tone of each string. I also discovered, to my immense pleasure, that I could change the tune of a string by pressing it down along the long flat extension of the instrument.

Hours passed as I taught myself this new music. I grew to a point of minor competence.

I was eager to try it, so I played a tune which I knew to produce a sweet nectar from the sea water. The music responded to my will at once. A splash rose from the sea and crashed down around me- filling the cave with a sweet and sticky scent.

Yes, this was an instrument. A new instrument. One with untold capabilities and I was the first to try it. In my greed and hunger I did not at all consider the ramifications of my actions.

I spent perhaps days in the cave, playing the new instrument to feed myself, hardly sleeping.

I played tunes on the string instrument- growing more and more complex as I gained confidence. And then, when I had managed to play the most compelling notes I knew on the instrument... I asked it a question. I played the music into the air, and as the sound danced around it I asked, "Can you show me where you are from?"

This was in my native tongue, of course, which is why the question could have so easily been... misinterpreted.

For the music listened to my request. I had spent most of my life seeking purpose beyond the island, and with a rush I knew the new instrument was going to show me.

The cave suddenly felt very large- it dwarfed me for a moment. Then my vision blurred- it turned into a swirl of marvelous colors spiraling faster and faster until they then descended into black.

When I awoke the cave was gone, the island was gone. My old life was gone.

I stood in the center of a bustling port. Hundreds of people, more than I'd seen in my entire life, writhed around me. Ships pillared over head on all sides. I was in a new land, wearing only my island robes and clutching the instrument in one hand.

The next few years of my life were a blur. A rich merchant took pity on me that first day at the port. I had frantically been trying to play the instrument to bring me back home. My talent for music far surpassed most people in the city at the time, so he brought me into his fold, taught me the ways of his world. He gave me a home, taught me his language, and educated me on the wider planet. For this, he has my infinite gratitude.

In those years I saw suffering of those in the city, I saw friends die of disease. I heard news of wars and death on a scale I had never imagined. Time and time again I tried to return to the island... but in my new home the music would not perform miracles.

It took me a long time to come to terms with that fact. It had not been the music that performed the miracles, but the island.

I tried every day to return, to leave the strange new world of chaos, greed, starvation, and disease. I went on journeys with the merchant's crews- always with the hope of finding my home. But I never could.

I had spent so long trying to discover something beyond the island, so determined to turn my back on the miracles. Now, all that I want is to go back.

*****

THE END