Like an Elephant's Tusks

Creativity Boot Camp- Day One

Topic: Ivory

Mandy sat in the window seat looking out at the early morning rain. The world looked like a washed-out version of itself, as if the constant spring downpour had washed away the colors, like the slow erosion of paint on the side of a barn. She hummed softly as drops of rain chased each other down the window pane.
The world inside Mandy’s mind was, just then, more brilliant and bright than any sunny day had ever been. She was composing a cheerful melody. As the notes bounced soundlessly through the green eyes of her mind, she imagined what they would feel like if they were real. Warm, she thought, like rocks on a sunny day. And like love.
She wondered what she meant by that. There was an unexpected pause in her internal symphony, and then a bridge led in to a totally different tune. She saw love then, and it looked like Caleb: tall and awkward with his wide smile and light brown hair. Her heart smiled and she hummed on, enjoying the new key her wandering mind had chosen.
After a few more silent moments of imagining him and humming her song, Mandy stood up from her resting spot. She glanced once more at the washed-out world outside the window and walked across the room to her piano.
The piano was old and worn. It had been her grandfather’s, and Mandy had rescued it when he passed away. Her grandmother wanted to throw it out; it wouldn’t stay in tune and half of the keys were chipped and dull. But Mandy loved the slightly off-key sound of that old piano, and her fingers relished in every chip and crack of the ivory keys. They made her think of real ivory. Not shiny and polished like some illegally imported trinket, but chipped and dirty and well-used, like the tusks of an elephant.
Mandy opened the lid of the little upright piano, exposing the tired keys. She lovingly caressed them, recognizing the distinct character of every one of them with her fingertips. This was the piano she learned to play on, and it would always have a special place in her heart.
Her thoughts drifted back to Caleb just then. He, too, had a special place in her heart that time would not diminish. There were certain things about him like the cracks on the piano keys—little idiosyncrasies she knew so well—that made him forever dear to her. Although she had many times tried to set aside her memories of him, she could not. She held on to him as steadfastly as she did the piano.
Mandy took a deep breath and pressed her fingers down on to the keys, playing the first chord of her song. The piano reluctantly sounded the notes, sighing slightly as it did so. The discordant sound of the old instrument was comforting to Mandy’s ears, and she smiled to herself. Music never sounded quite so sweet on any other piano.