Mikayla and Tristan headed toward the Medved house. Emotions painted a large smile on Mikayla’s face, but Tristan’s was there to rival hers. He was exhausted.
“Now what?” He asked, his voice barely audible.
“You’ll see!” Mikayla answered.
They reached the front door, and Mikayla rang the doorbell. Miloslav answered, giving a soft smile and motioning the two inside. After Miloslav closed the door, the three headed down the hallway into a room.
They turned into the room, and the rest of the siblings sat with their instruments. Kveta held her violin, bow in hand. Radim sat behind the double bass, and Dusanka sat at the piano.
“You like piano, don’t you?” Dusanka asked.
“Y-yeah,” Tristan replied hesitantly.
Miloslav grabbed his accordion, and Mikayla bounced up and down excitedly. Dusanka scooted over on the seat, patting the empty spot beside her. Tristan’s legs took a moment to get moving, and he joined her.
“When my mother first got me into music, she first taught me to play piano.” Dusanka told Tristan. He didn’t respond.
Dusanka’s finger gently pressed down on the piano key, playing a soft B. Tristan felt his stomach drop, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Out of all the piano pieces in the world, she wasn’t going to play that one… was she?
She continued to play, her fingers gliding effortlessly over the keys. Tristan froze. He recognized the sequence of notes. She was playing it.
Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor.
Tristan jumped to his feet, his entire body shaking. “No!” Tristan shrieked, tearing at his hair and slamming his hands against his head.
“T-Tristan?!” Dusanka whimpered.
Tristan shook his head, and without warning, turned and ran off toward the door.
“Tristan!” Mikayla shouted, but the boy ignored her as he ripped the door open, tearing down the hallway. She could hear his loud footsteps slowly fade away as the distance between them grew.
“I don’t understand,” Dusanka frowned. “He’s never reacted that way before.”
“What piece was that?” Mikayla asked, looking back at her.
“Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor,” Dusanka replied. “A very beautiful piece.”
Mikayla’s eyes grew wide, gasping loudly. The siblings seemed surprised at her reaction.
“What is it, Mikayla?” Radim queried.
“Why would you play that piece?!” Mikayla shrieked. Dusanka got to her feet, looking just as confused as she was worried.
“It’s one of my favorites.” Dusanka responded innocently.
Mikayla pulled at her hair. Dusanka wouldn’t do it on purpose knowing the weight the piece carried for Tristan. Maybe she didn’t know. She couldn’t have known!
“No, no!” Mikayla yelled. “That piece was also Tristan’s dad’s favorite! It even played at his funeral!”
“W-what?” Dusanka stuttered, tears rimming her eyes. “I-I had no idea!…”
“We gotta go explain to him that we didn’t know!” Kveta started to run in the direction Tristan went, but Mikayla stopped her in her tracks.
“No, I’m sure Tristan wants nothing to do with you four right now! Let me do it!” Mikayla protested. Kveta gazed at her with sad eyes, and Miloslav gave a nod and hum of agreement.
Dusanka gave a heavy sigh, guilt eating away at her. She walked up to Mikayla, putting her hands on Mikayla’s shoulders. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Please, make sure he’s okay.” Dusanka begged. Her grip on Mikayla’s shoulders tightened, and she shook with sadness. “And tell him I’m sorry.”
“Will do.” Mikayla replied. Dusanka drew back, and Mikayla turned and took off after Tristan. He was long gone by now, but hopefully Mikayla would be able to locate him.
Mikayla threw the door of the house open, glancing left and right for any sign of the boy. The air was warm, the sky blue. The lovely weather contradicted the situation Mikayla found herself in.
She thought hard, tapping her chin. Where would Tristan have gone? He didn’t seem like the one to go home and have to talk to his mother about the problem. Places flashed in her mind, until one stuck. That had to be the place.
Without a second thought, Mikayla ran in the direction of the place she knew he’d be.
Tristan stood by the creek. The water bubbled over the rocks, and the water level was depleting more and more as the hot summer went on. He grabbed rocks, throwing them in the water and watching as the surface rippled upon contact with them. He was angry, so angry, and he just wanted to be left alone.
Mikayla stumbled up onto the bank, catching her breath. “Tristan!” She said between breaths. “I knew I’d find you here!”
“What do you want?” He growled, avoiding eye contact. He threw another rock at the water, creating a large splash.
“Dusanka… she didn't know-” Mikayla started, but Tristan cut her off with a glare.
“I don’t care if she didn’t know!” He snapped. “I’m sick of you trying to get me to bond with them!”
“But why?” Mikayla asked, throwing her arms in the air. “They don’t mean any harm!”
Tristan gritted his teeth, tightening his fists. His face was turning red with fury. “Because whether they like it or not, their dad is not my dad!”
Mikayla froze.
Tristan looked away, shaking his head. He sat on the ground and held his face in his hands. His body trembled.
“I-I’m sorry,” Mikayla breathed. “I just thought…”
Maybe now wasn’t the best time to try to defend herself.
Mikayla didn’t say anything more. Instead, she sat next to Tristan, staying quiet. The birds chirped their songs, and the creek burbled gently. They sat for what felt like hours, but it was only a few minutes.
“I feel like they’re trying to replace my dad, like he never mattered.” Tristan eventually whimpered, a despondent look on his face. Mikayla’s heart hurt for Tristan, especially since she felt something similar.
“I know exactly how you feel! My dad divorced my mom, and now he’s married to someone else. It’s as if they’re trying to replace my mother and the role she has in my life.” Mikayla tried to relate to him. Tristan balled his fists, trying to fight the tears that were forming in his eyes.
“But they can’t replace my dad! He’s still my dad, even if he is gone. No one can take the experiences I had with him away!” He raised his voice, his body trembling as tears trickled down his cheeks. “Ugh… dammit, I didn’t want to cry. Especially not in front of a pretty girl.”
“But it’s okay to cry! Crying is a good thing. It’s also good to be honest about how you feel with both others and yourself.” Mikayla reassured, letting herself cry as well.
Tristan hung his head, looking defeated. “But the feelings are so painful.”
“Yeah, they are. They’re really painful. And I bet your mom is hurting too. I’m sure she just wants to see you happy.” Mikayla told him. Tristan looked over at her, sniffling. Bringing up his mom seemed to hit hard, as his tears flowed harder.
Mikayla continued. “But we gotta face that pain if we want to change anything. So, I think you should tell them how you feel.”
“That sounds really hard…” Tristan whined, averting his gaze.
“Then why don’t you start with your mom first? I think it’ll help. Even if you can’t change her mind about marrying Dalibor, at least you told her how you’re feeling.” Mikayla told him.
Tristan got to his feet, reaching down and grabbing a flat rock. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the rock out onto the water. The rock hit the surface, bouncing off and skipping a few more times before hitting the opposite bank.
He took a step back. Never before had he skipped a rock that many times.
A sigh escaped his mouth, and he looked back at Mikayla. “Alright.” He breathed. “I’ll talk to my mom.”
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