Light of Love

I gave myself the challenge to write something based on or inspired by music. The following piece is a short story inspired by this song:

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The house lights dropped as James, Hannah, Gregg and Ginny stepped on to the stage. The club was small, intimate, but filled to capacity. The crowd exploded into a roar, releasing an enthusiasm that had built up after an endless amount of anticipation. Standing center stage, just behind her keyboard, Hannah took a deep breath and kicked off the show. After ten years of playing together as The Mourning Glories, every concert seemed like their first, and it showed. They played with the hunger of a band that had something to prove. The group was a force. A whirlwind. When they were on, the energy that flowed through these four musicians fed the crowd. In turn, the enthusiasm of the fans fed the foursome, raising their performance to unimaginable heights. Off-stage, things couldn't be more different.

"Oh, James, I love you so muuuch!" Ginny had mocked him before, but this time James shot her a look that shut her up immediately. With a frown, she grabbed Gregg’s hand and pulled him out the door. The fangirls had moved beyond being a sore subject and become more of an open wound after he and Hannah had broken up. There had been tension between them all before, but these days things were different. Hannah didn't linger backstage after their shows any longer, choosing to meet and greet the lingering fans. Gregg and Ginny often left together, riding their performance-high to the nearest afterparty. Left alone, James often decided to ignore the groupies that waited patiently, wanting to spend time with their favorite rock star. Instead he nursed a bottle of whiskey and fiddled with his beaten up acoustic guitar, making noise that no one would ever mistake for music. This was the real life of the Morning Glories.

Remembering she had left her phone backstage, Hannah pressed her hand against the door reading "TALENT" and quietly peered inside. She had hopes of finding James passed out cold clutching his guitar, like he had been so many times before, but tonight was different. What she saw was something she hadn’t seen in quite a long time. James sat with his notebook, humming a melody with his eyes closed and notes scrawled across the open pages. He was writing again, something he hadn't done in ages. Casually, Hannah stepped into the room but James paid no mind. He was lost in a melody, his hand waving through the air to picture the notes that flowed through his mind. Passing by her phone, she went behind the keyboard and started to play along with James’ tune. Startled, James stopped humming and looked to Hannah with confusion. What was she doing? “Go on,” she urged, “keep going…” She repeated the music he had been humming, pressing the keys slowly to draw James out of his shell. He grabbed his guitar and joined in.

Slowly the two fell into a rhythm, the same one that had taken their lives across the world and back. It was familiar, and not tarnished with the stains of jealousy, anger and regret. The pair had lost so much during this tour. Their relationship was over and trust was lost long ago, but that night backstage they discovered that the music they made together was an unbreakable bond. Taking their moment of inspiration back to the hotel, James and Hannah spent the night together writing songs. It was a reunion of sorts. "Yeah, the music saved our lives that night..." Hannah told a reporter during a press junket six months later. "...and without the music, we wouldn't be here anymore. But now we have this new record, it's amazing, and our fans won't have to mourn the Mourning Glories any time soon."