Free The Plain White Room by Oliver Phisher Page A

making a sound he opened the door and stepped over the threshold. The front door went into the kitchen, and the music seemed to have stopped. He stood in the kitchen listening for a moment, waiting to see if Alice had heard and was coming out. Then a beautiful long sweet note drifted into his ears; the song must have just gone silent. He moved through the kitchen and into the hallway, as he went he could make out more and more notes. As the pleasant easing melody took form Lepus realised she was gentling singing along. She always refused to do that while others were around. For some reason happy to display her stringed prowess. But would always shy away from sharing her natural singing voice. At the end of the hall, the mournful tones were clear, but Lepus could still not make out the lyrics.
    Having only ever heard her sing along to her playing in passing. Or her singing in passing when she thought no one was listening, he couldn’t help but pause at the door.
    He pressed his ear against the door, placing both his hands against the door. The vibrations of the door were so soothing; she must have been playing so loud. Now he could just make out the words over the harmony tones;
    Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
    Say, could that lad be I?
    Merry of soul he sailed on a day
    Over the sea to Skye.
    Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
    Mountains of rain and sun,
    All that was good, all that was fair,
    All that was me is gone.
    Lepus heard soft clapping, opening the door he said “good afternoon” so as not to surprise her.
    Alice was sitting in a chair in the middle of her bedroom with her cello between her legs; across from her the March Hare was sitting on her bed. “Oh, hello Lepus, I was just playing March a new song I learnt.” The March Hare smiled, as Lepus’s face grew blank.
    ***
     
    It was summer; The air should have hung with distant music and balmy content. From the cities dancing lights to the height of the mountains. In the vast modest patch of this world in which Lepus dwelled, a storm was on everyone's lips.
    It threatened to break the sky and the rest of cattle. Of course, a storm, no matter how much you say it's a tornado, is still just a storm. It washes over the sky and brings darkness to all that you see. It's fast and powerful and makes the night seem endless, the rain pours and Zeus screams, throwing his mighty bolts down at us. Lepus would never scream back, never expecting any god to notice him.
    Alice echoed the storm.
    "Are you seeing this? Look at that! You can see the clouds moving in circles, so fast, so dark!"
    “I want more lightning, more thunder!"
    “I didn't hear anything?"
    "Oh right, yeah well there isn't any thunder, I meant, a lights show, sort of thi- LOOK there! Like that, wow! I'm getting out; it's not even raining that much."
    "Me too."
    They stood, side by side, two children of heart, staring into the abyss of the night sky.
    Her hand brushed his and he smiled; he pulled her close under the pattering rain. He was reminded of the time they had once run through the streets. She had pulled back his hand, and he had thought he was going to slip. She pulled him close; it had been pouring like nothing before that night.
    The rain began to start to live up to the expectations of the clouds. He got out his phone and searched for something with a beat, two pagans free again at last. A few foolish stragglers thought they were wise to have come to where we were, but all left upon seeing them.
    Perhaps they had made them feel awkward, or maybe they had seen what they came to see.
    There was so bad they couldn't bare it. I like to think that they felt inadequate compared to how conquering of the spectacle we were. They sky was falling, but we saw only an orchestra and ballet made just for them.
    "Time for home?" he said we glee. He felt as if he was the only man who had ever been allowed, by Royal decree of all, ever to utter those words.
    It felt an age since he had said them last.