My spidery fingers kneaded into the faded ivory keys, finally attaining soft yet melodious chords, practically silencing my left hand. Sprawled into various positions, my fingers gradually grew louder at one of my favourite points in the piece.

A kiss is still a kiss…

The mahogany Georgian door creaked open, but I kept my head bent down. I refused to break my concentration, and threw more of my heart into the minor masterpiece of notes.

A sigh is just a sigh…

Yet an instant later my fingers morphed from spiders to unsteady, whining mosquitoes. My breathing quickened and I swallowed unnecessarily. I could feel another presence in the room, which only made my heart beat faster.

A fight for love and glory…

The climax of the piece arrived, where I crammed as much feeling as humanly possible.

As time goes by…

As soon as I lifted my hands from the piano, I glanced up, eager to see the intruder. Immediately afterwards, I could not hold back a sob.

No one was there. No one was listening.