The moment a dream was realized.

The moment a person becomes whole.

The moment I uttered those fateful words:

“Sure!”

“Thank you”
He said the very words I wanted to say, as he smiled.

He grabbed my hand and eagerly brought me back into the building.

His leather gloves. His hands felt comfortably familiar.

He brought me into the elevator.

He pressed “11”; a floor that required a key to access.

We rode the elevator up slowly.

I awkwardly looked around the elevator;

before looking at the hand that I held.

It truly was a beautiful hand.

“We’re here”

He said before the elevator doors slowly opened.

“What?”

I questioned before the elevator door opened.

The whole floor was empty, unfinished, it was just a large box with clear glass walls.

I looked on in amazement and confusion; because what was this?

I guess he could see the shock in my eyes; because he answered:

“I asked the builders to leave this floor empty,

so apart from the support beams it’s basically empty”

The scattered sheets of papers covering the whole floor proved otherwise.

“What about the papers?”
I asked; since the papers covered the entire floor.

“This is my office.

I prefer working in open spaces;

it feels really limiting when you’re in a small box like some sort of-

…

What’s the word?

…

Pet- Like if I’m going to be trapped in a box for hours;

I’d prefer a big box.

You k-”

This quote felt familiar; I’d heard it somewhere before.

It was something my best friend in high school, a delinquent, had said thousands of times.

He said it was a quote to live by.

He had messy blonde hair, and red contacts lenses.

He would get dress coded every single day for only buttoning up his shirt halfway.

He’d skip classes and just play songs on the piano in the music room.

I w-

“So uh, about you singing?”
He said, standing directly in front of me;

I’d zoned out without realizing; again.

“Where’s the microphone, the judge , and-”

“Forget all of that; I just want to hear you sing.

Organically.”

“Alright-”

“Well, step out of the elevator first!”

I hadn’t left the elevator yet; 

I didn’t even know what I could step on.

Imagine stepping on a billion dollar irreplaceable contract and breaking it!

My life would be over!

“What if I step on something important”

“It’s fine; just don’t step anywhere around here to here”

He gestured vaguely with his hands that just made me more confused.

“I’m not sure I understand. I’ll just-”

“Just follow me”

He grabbed my hand and led me into the room.

I tried really hard to match every one of his steps.

What if I accidentally stepped wrong and broke a price document?

What if I accidentally stepped on a check that they needed to cash to not go bankrupt?

What if I broke his card?

“Alright we’re here”

We now stood in the center of the room.

“Do I sing now?”

I asked unsure.

“Oh, no, sorry”

He brushed away the papers around me and smiled, as he sat down.

“Now you can sing.”

“Alright-”

“Just so you know;

feel free to move around.

Step on whatever.

Don’t restrict your movement; because it might restrict your singing”

I took a deep breath, and began to sing…

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How beautiful you are shining.
In the eastern sky,
In the western sky,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How beautiful you are shining.”

He gave me a simple smile.

A smile I didn’t understand.

A smile covered in smoke.

A smile that was neither sad nor happy.

It was the first time I didn’t know what he was thinking.

He just looked at me and simply smiled;

Without a reason.

Like he’d lost something he never had.

Ring Ring!

Ring Ring!

His phone began ringing.

“Sorry, I have to take this”

He picked up the call, as he walked into the elevator.

He left me in the empty room alone with my thoughts.

All I had were the pieces of paper,

which I just noticed were all facing down.

Like he knew someone, who wasn’t supposed to see these papers would be here.

Like he knew I would fail…

That hurt.

Not much, but it hurt.

Was it because of what happened with the security guard?

It’s not like you can know what a person would do based on one interaction.

How did he know?

Did I know him?

I cycled through my brain…

Every boy I had ever met:
The kids that did the concert with me,

Brad my best friend from high school,

and

…

“The Boy!”

I accidentally yelled what I was thinking.

I finally understood why he cared so much about helping me…

I was the only one who cared about his old song.

Why me though?

He had a lot of money,

and could probably pay millions just to finish this song.

Was it an ego thing?

Some people were like that, but he seemed to genuinely care about me.

He acted like I was the only person who was capable of whatever he needed.

Like it had to be me.

Was the boy I was looking for really him?

He stepped out of the elevator defeated.

His eyes were drained of energy,

as he looked over at me he glanced at his hands.

Was my staring that obvious?

“Sorry, I’m really tired from that phone call-”

I had to ask him why I was here.

“could you come back next time? I’m-

I had to ask him.

“really sorry about th-”

“Are you that boy?”

I interrupted without realizing how little I had said.

“What? Is there an article you saw?”

He looked completely confused,

which was when I realized I just asked him the vaguest question ever.

“Are you the boy who composed this melody?”

Hopefully, I began humming the melody to the song I had heard all those years ago.

It was always just as beautiful as the first time I heard it.

A beautiful song that encapsulated a person’s life.

The song I chased my whole life.

I’d gotten so focused on singing I forgot to look at him for his reaction.

The song had completely entranced me, but when I did look at him…

His eyes sparkled.

The eyes of a child who was watching his favorite show.

The eyes an inventor who had just finished perfecting his creation,

and an artist looking at his greatest masterpiece.

It was his song; I knew it.

As the piece slowly ended his eyes began to fade back to their normal black.

His eyes had lost their emptiness.

He had been re-energized.

Then he just paused, sitting lost in thought, as he smiled the happiest smile I’ve ever seen.

I just smiled, and sat down in front of him.

I had finally found that boy.

I could finally hear the song; properly, for the first time.

It was the happiest moment of my life.

So we just sat there in the empty room, filled with papers, and smiled.

It felt nice.

It felt comfortable,

but it somehow felt too familiar.

We sat there in silence for a while.

We made eye contact, as he’d finished his thoughts.

Instead of breaking the silence, we just sat there until;

He asked me a question:

”Will you marry me?”

I had at thousand expectations of what he might say,

and that was none of them.

“What?!” I stood up and backed away.

So he really did just think I was pretty?
Was I going to be a trophy wife in a rich man’s collection?

I have to run to th-

“Sorry I could’ve phrased that better,

meant could you be my pretend wife, so I can leave this building in peace,”

He acted like it was the perfect explanation,

but all it did was make me way more confused.

“So, are you that boy?”

He paused for a few seconds and then answered:

“No? I just thought that song was really pretty,

and you had a really pretty voice”

Was that really it?
Was I wrong?

“What about your eyes?

You looked like an artist, who had just finished his greatest masterpiece”

“Yeah? You were the first talent I scouted.

In a sense, you are my greatest masterpiece.”

His explanation made sense,

and there wasn’t any reason for him to lie,

so I was just confused.

“Why did it have to be me?”

“It was fate; in a way.”He smiled standing up, walking towards me.

“What?” I continued backing up.

“You happened to sing at the perfect time for me to hear,

And you happened to get that shift when I came in.

It was like fate”

The more he spoke the crazier he sounded.

“Just stay back” I continued backing up until I hit the glass wall.

“Okay, I’m just really bad with words alright?”

Another familiar line I’ve heard somewhere before…

“Do I know you?”

He seemed so familiar…

“Yeah, we’ve met before”

“Where?!”

…

“At the restaurant?”

“Anything before that?”

“Not that I know of…”

His words trailed off into awkward silence.

Then a minute goes by and he asks the same question:

“Will you Marry Me?”

“Why?”

I was readying myself to run to the elevator.

“I don’t want to marry that girl downstairs.

My parents want me to marry her;

because her parents own the largest talent agency.”

“What’s that got to do with a pretend wife until we leave the building?”

What was that going to accomplish?

Did he want to go to the bathroom;

before his parents forced him to get married.

“Well, I can find a pretend wife later,

but that girl is in love with me in a bad way.

She’ll stall me here until my parents get here, and try to get us married.”

“That’s creepy”

”Yeah, I didn’t know my parents knew where I would be today.

Just cover your face and run when you see her”

“Alright”

I hesitantly put up the hood of my winter coat to cover my face.

That girl would probably bother me for coming off the same floor as him anyways

I followed him into the elevator readying myself for the greatest sprint I’ll ever accomplish.

I got into a running position;

just as the elevator doors began to open again on the first floor.

She stood there waiting happily,

but her face turned to annoyance when she saw me.

It also had a hint of confusion; because I was practically kneeling on the floor.

“Who’s that girl?”

I prepared to run; I found an opening on her right.

“She’s my wife.”
He said triumphantly.

“What? You’re married?”

When do I run?

You’re supposed to tell me!

”Well, I just proposed so we’ll get married soon”

Anytime now!
My legs are getting sore!

“You’re into weird girls,”

She said, as they both continued to watch me wait for my cue.

This is all your fault.

“Yeah, maybe I am”

I looked up and he was smiling like he was actually in love.

He was a really good actor.

“Oh, really? Dearie?”

This was a different voice.
She walked into the opening I had seen.

What do I do now?

I looked up at him, and his eyes…

They were full of regret and fear.

Oh, f-