The Musicians

Annie sat on the padded bench in the parlor her cousin’s steamboat, headed down the river. Her father had been reluctant to allow her to go to the city for a few days, even though it would be on her cousin’s boat. It was only when she had told him that her friend Elizabeth would be coming with her that he had agreed to allow it.

There were a piano player and a violinist in the corner, another of her cousin’s attempts to make the parlor more high toned she supposed. His first try had been candles on every table which had been disastrous due to the rocking of the boat. His next try had been performances by a trained monkey which had tuned out to have a magpie like fascination with glittery objects. It had had to go after an unfortunate incident with a woman who was wearing a jeweled brooch. Annie couldn’t see how the musicians could go wrong however; they sounded pretty good and did add something to the room.

Annie looked over at Elizabeth, who was sitting next to her. Elizabeth was the timid one, she hadn’t wanted to go on this trip at all, the only reason she was going was that she knew Annie really wanted to go. Elizabeth was the weak sort of person that passed as ladylike under poor light. Not that Annie looked down on her for it, Elizabeth was one of her best friends, still that didn’t mean she couldn’t occasionally find fault.

The city of M____, where they were heading, was the boats last stop. By the time that they finally reached it the parlor was filled. Some of the people who came on board were of their class, not wealthy but well to do; others looked like country farmers going into the city for some business or other. They all sat together however, crowed up against one another due to a lack of seats. All through the bustle and commotion the musicians played on, as if they were the only people there.

When they reached M____ there was a great fuss in the disembarking and Annie and Elizabeth were separated in the rush. Annie stood on the dock, waiting for Elizabeth to find her, but even once everyone else was gone Elizabeth didn’t come. Annie started to wonder if Elizabeth had ever gotten off of the boat at all but wasn’t just standing in the parlor waiting for her. These doubts finally got to the point where Annie turned around and boarded the steamboat again.

The boat, so lately crowded and noisy, was now eerie and quiet. Even the crew was on shore now, enjoying a few hours liberty before they had to unload the cargo. When Annie reached the parlor and realized that Elizabeth wasn’t there she couldn’t suppress a shudder. She was all alone, and somehow it didn’t feel right. That was when she heard the music.

The music was distant, but it was a sign of life. Annie had a choice now, she could disembark the ship again, and wait for Elizabeth outside, or she could follow the music. The music was far lovelier then anything that she had ever heard and she found herself drawn to it. She even found herself thinking that Elizabeth could wait even if she was now out on the dock.

To be continued...