Sarah's Dream is the thirty-second chapter of Zak Saturday's Immortal Love Life. It was first published on February 1, 2016.
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Chapter I woke up the next morning and found that Sarah was not in my bed. She was probably getting some breakfast, so I got up, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen. Zack was the only one in there. “Hey, Zak,” he said. “You looking for Sarah?” “Uh . . . yeah,” I replied. “How’d you know?” “You’re kidding, right? She’s my sister, my twin sister, and your, now, back together girlfriend. It’s beyond obvious that you’re looking for her.” I smiled. “Yeah, I guess it kind of is. So where is she?” “She just left here a couple minutes ago. She said that she was going to go get some fresh air, so I assume she went outside.” “Ok. Thanks, Zack.” “Anytime, Dude.” I headed outside. I looked around the whole perimeter of my house, but I didn’t spot Sarah anywhere. I decided to go into the woods. Maybe she was in there somewhere. A few long minutes later, I heard a sound in the distance. It got louder and louder the more farther I went into the woods. When I finally reached where the sound was coming from, I found Sarah. Her back was to me. She was sitting at an instrument—a piano, I believe—and she was playing it and singing:
That hid my face This is real Do you know what it’s like This is real You’re the voice I hear inside my head This is real Now I’ve found who I am When Sarah was done singing the song, I called out to her. “Sarah!” Bad idea. She screamed and threw a fireball at me. It hit the tree right next to me, setting it on fire. “Oh, shit,” Sarah cursed. She summoned water to her hands and put the fire out. Then she glared at me. “Zak, what the hell do you think you’re doing, sneaking up on me like that? That’s practically suicide.” “I can see that,” I replied, gesturing to the tree. “Shut up.” “What are you doing out here?” I asked, approaching her. She shifted her feet uncomfortably. “Oh, umm, nothing.” “Nothing as in playing the piano and singing?” “Umm, maybe.” “How did a piano even get here?” “Uh, I teleported it here from my house.” “Oh. Why?” “To play it. Why else?” “Oh, right. Why are you acting so weird?” Sarah shifted uncomfortably again. “Umm, I don’t like people hearing me sing.” “Why?” I asked. “You have a great voice.” She blushed. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” I kissed her on the cheek. “But why don’t you like anyone hearing you sing? Stage fright?” She nodded. She walked back to the piano and sat on the bench in front of it. I sat down next to her. “I really love to sing,” Sarah said. “I’ve even written a couple songs.” “Like the song you were singing just now?” I asked. She nodded. “I want to become a professional singer some day and have a recording deal. It’s my dream. When I was six years old, I entered a beauty pageant for young girls. My talent was singing a song that my mom use to sing to me when I was a baby on the piano that I learned how to play when I was five. And I won. I even still have the sash. Everybody told me how beautiful my voice was, and that’s when I knew that I wanted to become a singer. If that audience loved my voice and felt happy when I sing, then I want to make a lot of other people happy too.” “Hearing you sing a few minutes ago made me feel happy,” I said. She smiled. “You’re so sweet.” Her smile disappeared. “As I got older, I began to learn how to write songs and make new music for those songs, but I also became more sensitive. And, eventually, I stopped singing in front of anybody except my mom, my twin brother, and my best friend.” “How come?” “Well, I would watch singing competitions on TV sometimes and the judges would say some really mean things to the people who audition and have terrible voices. It was so embarrassing. I don’t wanna risk being a victim of that. I mean, yeah, people do say I have a nice voice, but eventually, someone’s gonna tell me that I have a terrible voice and that I should stop singing for the rest of my life.” “Sarah, the only people that are going to say that are people that are jealous that you have a beautiful voice and they don’t.” She smiled again. “Maybe. But I still don’t want to take any risks.” “Life’s all about taking risks, Sarah,” I said. “And sometimes, taking a risk is worth it.” “My mom told me the same thing.” “What else did she tell you?” “That she knows a good singer when she hears one, and that I have a good voice, and that she’s not just saying that because I’m her daughter, but because it’s true.” “And it is.” Sarah pressed a few keys on her piano. “I’m too afraid to in front of anybody, Zak. Even if everybody does like my voice, I wouldn’t be able to let them hear it.” “Well, then, we’ll just have to fix that,” I said. “We?” “Yes, we. I’m going to help you.” “Why?” “Because I’m your boyfriend, and that’s what boyfriends do for their girlfriends. At least, that’s what I think they should do.” Sarah laughed and kissed me. “Ok. Let’s do it.” “Alright then. Try singing that again that you played a few minutes ago.” She did as I told her and played the music, but she wasn’t singing. I noticed her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. I stopped her. “Sarah, what’s wrong?” “Sorry,” she said. “That’s kind of a habit when I’m around someone. I get it from my mom. She does it too.” “Why?” “Well, I may have a good voice, but she doesn’t. She always listens to music loud enough to where you can’t hear her singing along. She says she has more of a chance at becoming an actress than a singer, but not by much.” “And she would always sing to you when you were a baby?” “Yeah.” “That must’ve hurt to hear.” “Actually, it wasn’t. You see, the song is about comfort, and in order to feel comfortable, you have to have a comforting voice. So my mom would use her powers to change her voice when she would sing to me, and then change it back when she’s done.” “That sounds like cheating.” “It is, but if you hear her sing in her regular voice, you’d want her to use her powers to change it.” “She sounds that bad when she sings?” “Yeah. I don’t know how to describe what it sounds like, but it’s not good. I’ve heard worse, though.” “Ok,” I said. “Let’s try that song again.” “Zak, I don’t know if I can for you,” Sarah said. “I’m too scared about what you’ll say.” “Sarah, I’m your boyfriend, and I know you can do this. Please try. For me.” She sighed. She played the piano, but she still wouldn’t sing. She did that a few more times before I came up with an idea for her. “Ok, I have an idea,” I said. “What?” Sarah asked. “Can you play with your eyes closed?” “In my sleep.” “Ok. How about you do that and see how well that works? Just close your eyes, play the piano and sing. Just focus on the song. Forget that I’m here and imagine that you’re all alone. Maybe somewhere that you feel happy and like to be. Hopefully, that’ll work, ok?” She nodded. “Ok. I’ll try.” She placed her fingers on the keys, closed her eyes, and played. I was really impressed by how well she can play whether or not her eyes were open. Then again, she does have powers and they could be guiding her. But the best thing of all, she was singing this time. Strong and proud, like she’d been singing her whole life, which she probably has. When she finished singing, she opened her eyes, and she had a big smile on her face. “Wow. I can’t believe that worked.” “I have good ideas sometimes,” I said. “Yeah. Sometimes.” She gave me a kiss. “As well as that worked, Zak, it’s still going to take a while for me to get over my stage fright. I can’t keep my eyes closed through a whole song. I would have to open them every once in a while, and I don’t think I can do that just yet.” “Yet,” I repeated. “You’ll get the hang of it.” “I really appreciate you helping me try to get my dream to come true.” “Hey, that’s what boyfriends are for, right?” Sarah laughed. “Right.” She leaned her head on my shoulder. “How long have you been sneaking out here to play your piano?” I asked. “Almost as long as I’ve known you,” she replied. “I like to play at least once a day.” “Why out here?” “Because it’s quiet and I love being surrounded by nature.” “Ok. That makes sense. But that song, it sounds like you’re saying what you want to become someday.” “That’s because I am. Every song I write has a story behind it. And that song explains who I really am. I even wrote a couple songs about you.” “Oh, really? Can I hear them?” “Maybe later. I still don’t feel ready to sing in front of you with my eyes open and not feel self-conscious yet.” “Ok. I can wait.” “Sure you can.” “I can!” Sarah laughed. “Ok. You can.” We stood up from the bench, and Sarah sent her piano back home. “I’ll beat you back to your house,” she told me. “I doubt—” She used her super speed and ran off before I could finish my sentence. “Cheater!” I called after her. I could hear her laughing. I laughed and ran after her. Aww. Short but cute. Quiz Time! What is the name of the song that Sarah sang, and who sings it? I'll reveal the answer at the end of the next chapter. Please review here. |
Character Appearances[]
Main Characters[]
- Zak Saturday
- Sarah Hollinger
- Zack Hollinger
- Raylee Hollinger (mentioned)