Nostalgia { Estelle Tambling }

“And for those things that I yearned to defend the most, things such as our lovely memories...

Memories that I keep holding on tight, to leave aside, that way...

The absence of your body”


The dawned light of a decaying sunset where its sun hides in a hurry...

    The oldest, biggest star in our vast system awaits for a 12 hour lapse; 12 hours for its dawned reborn that announces, excited, the arrival of a brand new dawn. I thought then, during a thousandth of miliseconds, in the remaining traces of the unforgotten past. 

    I lied agaisnt the edge of my desk placing my hands over its border, holding, with the paleness of my fingers its rigid wood. An afluttered sigh escaped from between my lips... 

    I tried to take back the fragments of soothing memories, memories that I reckoned and kept as a record of former moments; I buried my sorrows in the progress of oblivious joy; my students were precious to me, yet, at the same time, I just kept feeling tiredness as if their progress just gave me a kind of passenger happiness and it was all consumed in a void as soon as the loneliness made presence.

Could I be loved? Could I be hated? Could I be respected?... Could I ever be remembered?

    Love has abandoned me and the only thing that I could ever gain were the appreciations of the ones I called "students"; no paiting is attractive under the eyes of who cannot understand it; I've been trying to be remembered in a fervent manner... I admit. 


    The crackle and taping of the trees ramifications agaisnt the windows; on its outsides the wind blew elevating the semi transparent curtains through the windows gaps. I felt goosebumps that later on where seen on my legs and arms, and in front of me? the beauty of a dark Yamaha piano.

<< Everything became darker before I could realize >>

     And after rising my fatigued sight, I observed the beauty of a starry night way beyond the wide windows; I crossed my arms for a second while the black classic teacher outfit made me look like another immersed shadow in the environment. I walked towards the piano, sitting on its bench, opening the frontal lid and caressing finally the white keys; I placed my feet on its pedals and right there, I just felt the deepest nostalgia...

Every morning started at the same for Estelle. There was no working around the tyranny that was the opening bell. The afternoons were far more free form, dependent on the whims and wiles of the various athletic teams. The head nurse became well-acquainted with how spirited the girls were quite early on, and thankfully, her recommendations to the coaches were more or less successful in minimizing the injuries incurred during practice. Of course, 'minimal' was still a far cry from 'none', and today was no exception, with a handful of girls coming in after a rather comedic pile-up during a practice drill. Most were simple cases of bruises and scrapes, but there was one girl, the cause of it the pile-up in the first place, who had to be treated for a rather nasty sprain. After icing it and getting her in splint, Estelle found herself (though still willing) escorting the last girl to the dorms. Thankfully, Estelle only made it as far as out the main entrance of the main building when another classmate caught up to them, intent on taking home her best friend (or perhaps more? Not that Estelle minded. If they were happy, that's all there is). After a few words of caution for the two of them to limit movement, lest the injury worsen, she let them go on their way, watching as their silhouettes faded into the distance and the sound of their footsteps replaced by the sound of a piano. ...a piano? All other students would have to have gone home by this time. Or should have. Estelle was no stranger to the odd handful who liked to linger, but it was still her duty to watch over the students, even if it meant having to play the villain. There were no pianos in the main building, and a sharp turn of the head towards the Music Building was all it took to spot a set of conspicuously open windows. "Of course it'd be open," Estelle mused out loud. "And fortunately so, I'd probably not be able to hear it otherwise." The old sailor stretched with a grin. A cool evening beckoned for a short run, and with a gust of wind at her back, Estelle broke into a sprint, her steps sure but soft to minimize the sound. After a year, the hallways of the music building were familiar enough that Estelle could make her way out of memory, slowing down as she turned the final corner and approached the open doorway to the room. Even though the sound of her running (even if muffled), could have tipped off whoever was in the room, Estelle still stacked up next to the doorway; old habits were hard to break. Carefully, she peered into the room, minimizing her exposure in the same old techniques before she became the head nurse. Eyebrows raised in amusement - not only was it not a student but a staff member, but a rather recent arrival, a new language teacher. There was no more use for stealth, and with only a huff of amusement, Estelle walked into the room, a solid tap of her boots on linoleum announcing her arrival. With a chuckle, she called out in her usual mix of Japanese and English, "Curfew may be primarily for the students, <deary>, but I dare say I think it's <closing time> for us staff too."

Tags: Aeon Vollan Words: ### Notes: coded by rem of WW