The Piano
Source: pixabay
Part 1: Joe
Standing in the corner of the room, the Grand Piano was the last item in the otherwise empty house. It was sad to be moving on from this place, the memories of a childhood came flooding back. Many of them revolved around that piano.
The deal on the house was too good to pass up, the buyer had offered over the market price with the stipulation that the piano stayed. Now, as he was leaving the house, the piano was all that remained. He could remember clear as day Nan and Pop sitting around the piano, singing badly on Sunday night family dinners. His sister spent forever at that piano, learning her skills that she had now taken to the Conservatory. It also made the best hide and seek spot when he was four, climbing in and hiding out. By the time he realised that no one was looking for him, he climbed out, feeling silly.
There was also rough times, Mum and Dad regularly argued about it. It always seemed to come up whenever they were short of money - dad used to always go on about how much it was worth and try to convince mum to sell it. She wouldn't budge, and would regularly say "what are we if we don't have any family heirlooms?"
Anyway, those days are gone, and the cold hard practicality won out. Still...
Closing the door on that ornate piano was one of the hardest things he had to do, but it was time to move on, or so he thought. Three weeks later, out of the blue one evening, the phone rang. The voice on the other end seemed nervous. It was the new owner of the old house. She was ringing to ask something about the piano! Was it haunted, was the question. She had woken in the middle of the night, to the sound of music coming from the piano. As She approached it stopped.
"What song was playing?" Joe asked.
"Fur Elise" the caller answered.
A chill went down Joe's spine, "That was my Grandma's favourite piece, she used to play that so many times on the piano." Wow was it possible that his Grandma was haunting the old piano, maybe she was angry that it had been abandoned by the family. "Also, the caller went on, a tone of fear in her voice, we noticed in the ornate carvings down the side of the piano, a Pentagram. Do you know anything about that?"
Joe was shocked, he had never seen that before. “Where is it?” he questioned. “Down the side that was next to the wall. It small, but pretty clear.”
“I don’t know anything about it, I don’t remember seeing it. The piano had never started playing itself before, so I don’t know what else to say to you…” Joe told the caller and then wrapped up the conversation as quickly as possible.
After dinner, Joe gathered a box of items out of the back of the cupboard. The conversation earlier had rattled him and searching through this box of his Grandparents belongings seemed like a good place to start his search for answers. The dusty old files, letters and objects would hopefully hold some clues. As he flicked through some papers, a small notebook drew his attention. As he opened it up to the first page, his jaw dropped. A great big pentagram and a heading that read…
“Supplies for spells and potions”
It was most definitely written by his grandmother, her distinctive handwriting was unmistakeable. It was late, and he had an early start tomorrow, so Joe packed it all away and got ready for bed.
Sleep, however, eluded Joe that night. He tossed and turned and kept replaying as much as he could remember of growing up with that piano, looking through his memories for clues. Nothing. At 7am, while getting ready for work, the phone rang again. Joe let the machine take it…
“I need your help, this piano is possessed or something, surely you know what’s going on. Please call back as soon as possible.” Joe ignored it and went to work.
That afternoon, he emailed his mother. Since she had left, this was the only way he could get in touch with her. She would know, surely, and now he just had to wait for her to reply. Getting home from work, there was three new messages on his machine. Slowly, he hit the button to play them, concerned about what he might hear. They were all from the new owners, and all asking for help or answers to the piano’s mysteries.
Part 2: Suzanna
Suzanna immediately fell in love with the house. It had high ceilings, character and charm. The Piano was amazing, and she decided to offer the sellers extra if they would leave it behind. Her offer was accepted and now she could put the divorce behind her and move on with her life. So excited on the day she moved in, the first thing she did was sit down and play the piano. It felt much loved, and the tuning was perfect. Unpacking would have to wait till tomorrow, she set her bed up and slept, until...
She woke with a start, the unmistakeable sound of the piano playing was clear as anything. Terrified, she crept out to see who had broken in on her first night in the new house. Peering around the doorway, the music stopped, but no one was there. Suzanna moved closer and then searched frantically every corner of the house. There was definitely no one there, but it was certain that the piano was being played. Could it be that this piano was actually a modified pianola? Or something else. Anyway, she decided she would investigate in tomorrow and call the previous owners to find out what was going on.
Checking over the piano carefully the next day, she found a carving of a pentagram in the wood along the side next to the wall. There were other symbols too, but ones Suzanna didn’t recognise. That night she called the previous owner, but had no luck, he had no idea and was a bit dismissive. No answers there and no other clues anywhere in the house, maybe she had imagined the whole thing. That night however, it started again. Once again, the sounds of Fur Elise rang out through the house. Suzanne investigated again, and it stopped again. She went back to bed and it started again, this time though it was a different tune, much darker and scarier. It was the “Funeral March” by Chopin.
Suzanne tried frantically to call the previous owner, desperate for answers. The Piano was haunted, of that she was now sure. She packed some items and went to stay at a motel for the night. The next day, she called a company that specialised in relocating piano’s.
She called Joe again on Saturday, and this time he answered. She told him all that had happened and let him know that he could have the piano back, she didn’t want it. Joe hesitated but didn’t really have a choice. It was being delivered to him, or the rubbish tip, the choice was his. Suzanne was convinced that if the piano was gone, her ordeal would be over.
Part 3: Julia.
Joe’s mum received the email from Joe asking about the piano. She read it several times, not in shock, but more so thinking about how to tell Joe about his Grandmother without tarnishing her memory. She decided that straight out honesty would be the best way, the time for secrets was past and hopefully Joe would understand. Julia was not ashamed of her mother, on the contrary, she had great pride in her. This extended time living in the Irish countryside was in fact inspired by her, and the need to feel closer to her ancestors.
Julia crafted her reply carefully,
“Dearest Joe, the situation you have found yourself in with the Piano does not surprise me. I assure you no one will come to any harm. There is no negative energy attached to the Piano. I just wish you had remembered my words when you sold the house – “What are we if we don’t have any family heirlooms.” Those words had a meaning I had hoped you would heed, but sadly not.
The Piano may well be haunted by your grandmother. It would not surprise me that her spirit has attached itself to the last surviving item from the family home. Your Grandmother was a Wiccan High Priestess. She was a practising witch, to use a generalisation. This fact was always kept from your sister and you at the request of your father. He always thought it was mumbo jumbo and didn’t want anything to do with it.
The Piano had special meaning to your Nan. It has carvings down the side, that too this day I am surprised you didn’t notice earlier. They are the pentagram (be aware it is not a devil worship sign as it’s single point is at the top, not the bottom) a triple goddess sign, the tree of life, and a message written in the “Witches alphabet”
It is vital that you regain ownership of the Piano. In our family, it is the most tangible connection to our past. While I don’t know how you will react to this news, you must know that the Piano contains other secrets that MUST remain in the family. I trust you will do the right thing and bring this Piano back to the family.
I will organise my affairs here and return to Sydney as soon as I possibly can. Until then, you must make sure the Piano comes back to the family, as soon as you can. There is no negative energy, but there are other items that are hidden within the piano that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
All my love, Mum.
To Be Continued.
The start of this story is a slightly edited version of two previous posts from #freewrites. I have added to the story, and will continue it on in the future. This is my first real attempt at writing fiction, and I hope you like it.
Thanks for reading,
John.