Song Fiction No. 1- #yearofplay

Stephen's feet crunched against the light snow.  It seemed to him that he could hear his footsteps echo through the crisp air and come back to him as it echoed off the walls of the campus buildings.  It was cold enough that his classmates stifled themselves with scarves and mittens and there was little chatting as they all walked towards the music building.

The cold was a sharp contrast to the library which had felt unreasonably warm inside.  It always was hot in there and Stephen had passed a couple different study carols where students' heads were slumped lower.  The library felt even warmer when he walked up to the audio desk.  Even after six months, Stephen always felt a warmth when he first caught sight of her.  He was still a freshman and closer to the feelings and passions of high school and seeing her behind the desk, perched on a high stool, made his heart beat a bit faster.

She quietly helped the line of patrons with their recordings until Stephen made it to the front of the queue.

"Oh hey," she said and looked over her shoulder.  Her boss was sitting behind the glass window of his office and he had his back to them.  "I can only talk for a second.  It's been busy and I've got to go into the back... wait a minute."

She walked back to her boss' open door and knocked, "Jim, I need five? Can you cover for me? Thanks."

She strode around the desk with a little more purpose than expected and grabbed Stephen's hand, leading him to the stairwell.

"It's over, Stephen.  I'm sorry, but I'm just not there yet."

At that moment, Stephen had stopped listening.  He'd heard it all before and thought it would be different this time.  His mind immediately went to his upcoming rehearsal and the music he would be working on.

As the cold bit at his face, he remembered a brief embrace of goodbye and saying something stupid like, "It always starts with a kiss and ends with a hug."

He looked up at the entrance to the music school, took a deep breath and walked in.

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Find out more about #yearofplay by reading the text of this song.  This little piece of fiction is one of the stories that runs through my head as I'm working on the first part of my upcoming work with the "Denver Art Song Project".