Unveiling Dreams

Finally, the day she had been eagerly anticipating had arrived - it was Saturday, and Deliah was filled with excitement. During the week, she would see Alex in the hallway and her face would light up with a natural beam that she couldn't control. Alex would always politely smile back, not realizing that he was sending a million butterflies to her stomach.

This Saturday's date was the "Next Big Thing" in Deliah's life at the moment. She had tried on at least a dozen outfits from her massive wardrobe every night, asking opinions from her mom, Sarah, and even her dad to help her pick the perfect one. Despite her efforts, she still couldn't find the right outfit to wear on her date with Alex. Deliah was desperate to impress him and make him fall for her, just as she had already fallen for him. This was the first time in her memory that she had ever liked a guy so much.

On Friday afternoon after school, she went with her friends to buy a new outfit just for the occasion. With her wallet armed with her week's allowance and Sarah's, she finally managed to snag an outfit that she felt matched her personality. Sarah had advised her to be true to herself and wear something that reflected who she was, not something that was fake. After all, the best way for Alex to fall for her was to fall for the real Deliah, not a portrayal of her.

On Saturday morning, as the sisters waved goodbye to their parents who were leaving the driveway, Deliah could hardly contain her excitement. "Yay!! Sissy, today is DA DAY!" she exclaimed. "I can't can't cannnnn't wait!" Sarah chuckled in amusement and turned back into the house once their parents were out of sight. "Don't be so excited that you faint, okay?" she joked. "You wouldn't want to say goodbye to your beloved Alex."

Deliah pouted at the thought and glanced at the time. It was only 9am - another seven hours until the date with Alex. "Yay!!! I can't wait!" she exclaimed once more.

Sarah smiled. "Well, I'm obviously not a candidate for the entire process, so why don't you call the girls over to help you prepare for it?"

"GREAT IDEA!" Deliah chirped and raced to the phone. "I'll call them over now!"

Sarah smiled and nodded, walking over to the piano and flexing her fingers. She glanced at the clock. Seven hours till she was supposed to be at the concert hall for the first round of rehearsals. Oh joy.

"You're going to charm the shoes and socks of Alex, Deliah." Iris praised. "If he still doesn't fall for you after this, he is positively gay!"

Deliah laughed and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a colorful leopard print jacket on a white base, paired with cute pink shorts, and a bright pink leather sling envelope bag. She had on two medium-high pigtails and looked absolutely adorable, even if she would say so herself.

"He's going to fall for you in no time, Deliah. No worries." Yvonne assured.

"Do you really think so?" Deliah asked shyly. "I really want this date to go well, you know?"

"We all know," Yvonne nodded. "We'd have to be blind and deaf not to know since you've been saying it all week." She teased, chuckling and turning to Nancy. "Nancy, you should be the one to give Deliah advice since you're the only one among us who has a boyfriend."

Nancy laughed. "Do you think I'm an expert in love? I've only had one boyfriend."

"True, but let's not forget that Brad was the biggest ladies' man at Grenville High before you came," Iris interjected. "He must have used some of his tricks on you, and you would have picked up on them."

Nancy shook her head, laughing.

"Nope. Because the Brad I know is clumsy and unsure of himself, the playboy side of him isn't the real him," she grinned. "I don't know about Alex, though. Different people act differently in front of the person they like."

"Then I hope Alex acts really differently in front of me compared to other girls." Deliah giggled. "But then again I haven't seen him with any other girl before so I don't know how he usually acts in front of one."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Yvonne asked. "It means you're the only girl in his life! I can't wait for you two to become official. I feel like a matchmaker!" Deliah smiled to herself and flopped onto the bed. "I hope so too."

"The final performance of the night will be given by Sarah, Professor Schneider's best student, who will be playing Beethoven's Sonata Opus 106, one of the most challenging pieces in history!" announced the MC. "Let's give a warm welcome to Sarah!" The audience applauded as Sarah stepped hesitantly onto the stage, dressed in a simple white button-down shirt and high-waisted pencil skirt for the performance. Although she looked good, it was clear that she hadn't seen the sun for a long time, and her face was partially obscured by her glasses.

As she bowed to the crowd and gave a small smile, the applause was noticeably softer than for the other pianists, who had their own groups of supporters in attendance. Some had their entire class come out to support them, but Sarah had no one.

She tried to ignore the fact that her parents and even Deliah weren't there to support her, and focused on steadying herself as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Keep the piece in mind, Sarah," she urged herself. With a confident air, Sarah raised her hands, and as her fingers connected with the piano keys, they moved with ease, as though guided by a force on their own. She'd practiced this song so many times that she could play it with her eyes closed, chat with someone else, and even daydream without missing a beat.

But, despite her preparation, Sarah couldn't fully lose herself in the music. She tried to forget that she was performing for an audience of five hundred people, but her nerves got the best of her. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't shake off her stage fright, the one fatal flaw that kept her from pursuing a career in music.

Sarah's parents had trained her from a young age, starting with family performances and slowly working their way up to larger audiences. It worked to a certain extent, but the young pianist still struggled to perform without her loved ones there for support. Unfortunately, her parents and little sister, Deliah, were not in the audience that day.

Sarah was determined to push through her fears and give a stunning performance, but as she reached the halfway point of the song, she knew it wasn't her best. Despite her disappointment, Sarah knew that her love for music would never fade, even if her stage fright continued to hold her back.

With a sudden jolt, Sarah was in it. Three-quarters into the piece, she finally felt the music coursing through her body. Her once stiff, straight form began to sway as she closed her eyes, fully surrendering to the melody. At that moment, everything around her faded away – the stage, the audience, and all of their judging eyes.

She was lost in the music.

As she lifted her hands off the keys, still savoring the notes' remnants floating in the air, the applause didn't come immediately. The audience was still mesmerized by the musical world Sarah had painted for them. But then it arrived, and it was deafening. People stood up and cheered, exclaiming "WONDERFUL!!!" as they showered her with their praise.

Bowing with gratitude, Sarah looked at the crowd of people who had just validated all of her hard work, and in that moment, she finally felt alive.

The recital came to an end, and Professor Schneider came out on stage with his other students for the final bow. Afterward, he pulled Sarah aside for a private conversation.

"What happened out there today, Sarah?" he asked with concern. "You weren't into the music until three-quarters into the piece. It was impressive to get such a response with only a quarter of the song played with your heart in it, but that's not the point. Why didn't you connect with the piece for the first three-quarters?"

Fidgeting uneasily, Sarah responded, "My parents and sister aren't here today. I was a little unsettled."

Professor Schneider frowned. "They aren't here today? They know about your Special fear, don't they?" he questioned.

Sarah inwardly acknowledged Professor Schneider's clever phrasing of her stage fright. "Why aren't they here to support you?" he asked.

Shrugging it off, Sarah said, "It's okay, professor. I'll have to learn to perform without them one day."

Professor Schneider sighed in response, but Sarah's attention was elsewhere. She couldn't help but wonder how her sister was doing with that Alex guy of hers.

********

Just at that moment in another part of Athens, Deliah was having the time of her life. Alex had picked her up at 4pm on the dot, dressed in his signature checkered shirt and a black hat, not looking like he used particular amounts of efforts for the outfit but still looking awesome.

Though he was a little nervous about his first date with a girl, Deliah's cheerful demeanor soon put him at ease. They went to shop a little around the town area and picked up a few cute items as they chatted along the way.

Deliah got to know about his grandmother and his reason for staying in France previously. She got to know about his friendship with his Aerospace friends and how he really liked journalism. Alex got to know about Deliah's dreams to become a fashion designer some day and well...there were a lot of things she said. She was the type of girl to chatter and blabber all the way and even though it was a little rude, Alex couldn't help but drift off sometimes because his attention span wasn't that long.

But he did notice something. She refrained from talking about her elder sister when he asked how many sisters she had. It was the first part of the whole conversation where Deliah actually paused, having nothing to say.

He wondered if there was some unresolved tension between them, or if Deliah simply preferred not to talk about her.

As the day drew to a close, they stopped at a local eatery for a simple meal before Alex dropped Deliah off at home. "Thank you for a great day, Alex," Deliah said, beaming from ear to ear. Alex waved and drove away, leaving Deliah outside her home, still buzzing with the excitement of the day.

"Today was amazing," she murmured to herself, feeling grateful for the wonderful memories she had made with Alex.