Fiction logo

Sweet Lullaby

Bill’s guitar has the supernatural ability to calm any anger in a person, but has an unintentional effect that pushes his relationship with his wife to the brink.

By Jesse LeungPublished 2 years ago 15 min read
Like

Enjoying a stroll around the neighbourhood, Bill grooved with the music blaring in his earphones, but happened to glance at one of the many decks in the suburban borough. Another young couple was having a heated debate with one another, not even caring about the fact that their conversation was being eavesdropped by literally everyone nearby. Bill took out his guitar, as he did many-a-time and started playing a song in a slow soothing manner. Pretty soon, the couple was no longer arguing and were only quietly conversing. After nearly a minute, they embraced one another with all the anger and frustration evaporated into thin air. Finishing his song, Bill’s eyebrows furled and he snarled at the sky as all that anger that was plaguing the couple descended upon him. Walking speedily past the busy city streets, someone accidentally bumped into him, resulting in an outburst of anger. “What’s wrong with you man? Watch where your headed idiot!”

Sitting in the car and closing his eyes, his brows slowly unfurled, and his snarl melted away into a tired yawn as he started returning back to his original mood. Taking deep breathes to calm himself down, he tried to remember what Tanya had asked him to buy earlier, before he was distracted by the arguing couple. “Toilet paper, sponge towels and detergent, right.”

Leaving his guitar in the backseat, he bounded happily to the store seemingly without a care in the world, and eager to get his shopping done. Phoning his wife, he confirmed to her that he had succeeded in procuring the desired grocery items.

“My goodness, twelve dollars for detergent? That’s insane. Anyways, I’m just about to take out the lasagna from the oven, so come home quick, okay?”

Thinking of the delicious dinner his wife was making, Bill couldn’t wait to get home, “Sounds awesome dear, see you soon.”

Seeing her husband come in through the door with his guitar in tow, Tanya immediately berated her husband for using it again. “Bill, I thought we agreed no more guitar helping…”

“There was a couple arguing and I thought I would settle their anger a bit for their own good.”

Looking Bill right in the eye, Tanya waved a spoon at him criticizing his carelessness by risking his life to solve little petty arguments. “You know how worried I am for you when you absorb that anger. You’re not yourself when your angry and I’m afraid one day you’ll do something you’ll regret, either to yourself, me or someone else.”

Hugging his concerned wife, Bill made a deal with her about his secret ability. “I’ll only use it in emergencies then, life and death situations, okay?”

“Promise?” Tanya raised an eyebrow at his commitment.

“I promise dear. Let me wash up and then let’s have dinner. It smells delicious.”

Looking over at his guitar placed on the chair in the dining room, Tanya wondered if she should break the darn thing for her husband’s sake. It was only a matter of time before her husband did something serious in his altered mental state.

As Bill came down in his casual clothing ready to eat, she took out the lasagna from the oven and placed it in the centre of the table. Steaming and covered in melted cheese, Bill spooned out a serving for his wife before taking some for himself, carefully eating the piping hot pasta.

“Absolutely top-notch dear,” Praising his wife, Bill thoroughly enjoyed his meal while Tanya had something on her mind that she wanted to ask.

“Honey, if I ever get angry, would you cheat and use your guitar powers on myself? Or would you accept the blame if I’m right? I know I’m rarely angry at you, but if it’s for a legitimate reason, would you treat me fairly?”

Looking firmly into his wife’s intent eyes, Bill reassured her of his promise, “Honey, I said before and I’ll say it again, I’ll only use it in emergencies, only if your life is in jeopardy. Agreed?”

Nodding her head in understanding, they both awkwardly went back to silently eating their food, digesting what was said a moment ago.

Helping clean up the plates and collecting the cutlery, Bill rinsed them in water and soap while Tanya dried them off with a towel. Offering to let his wife shower first while he waited, she came out in a nightshirt, which was a bright neon pink colour, which Bill always thought was horrendous. Taking his turn to shower, he opted for his old T-shift that had dozens of holes in it; he was unwilling to throw it away despite his wife’s protests.

Laughing once again as her husband got into bed, she poked her finger through one of the holes in his shirt, making him laugh as well.

“I’ll never throw away this shirt, not till it’s unwearable, ha ha.”

In a hushed tone to herself, Tanya lamented, “Perhaps I should throw that dreaded thing out for you.”

“What was that dear?”

Looking away nervously she was careful to not get in trouble, “Oh nothing dear. Good night!”

Driving in the morning rush to get to work, Bill finally arrived and entered the bank where he was a manager. Watching the tellers set up their stations in preparation for the line that had already formed outside, he gave the all clear for the receptionist to unlock the door, letting in a flood of clients.

Later in the afternoon, he caught one of the tellers looking at her phone while waiting for clients, Bill walked over and tapper her on the shoulder, much to her embarrassment.

“Sorry sir, I’ll stop checking my phone.”

“Don’t let it happen again okay?”

Sitting back on his office chair Bill rested his eyes a bit before being suddenly jolted to action hearing a gunshot in the lobby.

“Alright everyone, on the ground now! Unless you want to get shot. You, give me all the money from the vault. Now! Well? Hurry up!”

Cracking open the door and holding tightly onto his guitar, Bill began playing a lullaby song softly at first but gradually getting louder and louder.

As most of the clients and staff stayed silent, some were whimpering as the gunman eventually dropped his gun and broke down sobbing as the security guard took away the weapon and held him in custody for when the cops arrived.

Locking himself into his room knowing what would happen, Bill shut his eyes, hoping not to do too much damage, but snapped them right open, red in anger, and thrashed about in his office, knocking papers and stationery everywhere. Howling in rage and punching his fists into the wall, he eventually slowed down, then sat in his chair, calming down from his berserk mood. Slowly the redness went away in his eyes and he began cleaning up everything, hoping no one would notice, although the hole in the wall would be hard to ignore. Opening the door, he could see the cops apprehending the suspect, while others were questioning the witnesses for their statements.

“Yes, he just suddenly dropped his gun and started crying in front of us all. Honest! I’m not sure what happened but it’s like his attitude changed suddenly.”

“And you said you heard some music before he calmed down?”

“Yeah, sounded like an acoustic guitar. Don’t know who was playing it though.”

An officer suddenly noticed the small wounds on Bill’s knuckles and immediately got him some medical attention. “Oh sir, you’re hurt, here we’ll clean that up and bandage it for you.”

Bill thankfully accepted the help. “Appreciate it sir, I must have hit the wall when I was sleep-walking…”

“Was quite a punch while sleepwalking to get a wound like this.”

Wincing at the rubbing alcohol used to cleanse the cuts he waited for the medical personnel to bandage up his hands, which by now looked like a boxer’s hands.

Gently holding his phone while talking to Tanya, he tried to assure her that he was okay and that the danger was over.

“You used your powers again? Honey, I thought we agreed only in emergencies.”

“Dear, there was an assailant with a gun, I couldn’t just let him hurt people.”

“Did you go berserk again? Did you get hurt?”

“Yeah, I zoned out for a bit and punched some walls, but other than a few cuts on my hands I’m fine dear.”

“Did anyone find out about your power? It might not be the best publicity to have right now.”

“No, people only heard the song but didn’t see me playing it. I should be alright.”

“Alright, I’ll be heading home early today, so I can get a start on dinner if you wish.”

“You leave my kitchen alone! If you want to help, put a couple frozen turkey drumsticks into a bath of water to defrost. I don’t want you cutting half your thumb off again like last time.”

“Yes princess. Ha ha. I thought you forgot about my kitchen mishap.”

“How could I? Your thumb was gushing out blood and it took weeks to clean it out of the tiles and wooden floor.”

Pulling into the side lot beside their driveway, Bill left the garage for his wife’s car to park in, and he entered the house, which by now was cold and dark.

Turning on the heat and lights, he opened the freezer to find the turkey. Unfortunately for him, there were two kinds of drumsticks in the freezer, chicken and turkey. Picking the bigger ones that he assumed were the right ones, he soaked them in some warm water.

Sitting down on the couch, he watched the evening news, which had just mentioned the foiled bank robbery as breaking news.

Reports say a masked gunman was about to rob a bank but broke down in tears when some guitar music sounded in the room. Witnesses say they didn’t know who played the song, but it had a soothing effect and allowed the security guard to apprehend the suspect while he was crying.

Looking at his guitar sitting on one of the armchairs, Bill only remembered when the eccentric old man in the thrift store sold him the instrument. He told him that it was no ordinary guitar and that if played right, it could influence people’s emotions. Not believing him at all, Bill only got the guitar because it was on sale, but it wasn’t long before he realized the old man was right. Sometimes when he played sad songs, people would quiet down and even stop fighting to listen to the music. He even tried it on Tanya when he accidentally forgot their anniversary, calming her down from being enraged to being on good terms again.

It was only recently though when he realized we would zone out for several minutes after each use of the guitar. In fact, he was with Tanya, using the guitar with her present for the first time and she saw firsthand what the power did to him; turning him into a monster. Before then, he had no recollection of being in berserk, but his wife confirmed his suspicions. After using the power, he was not himself and was essentially out of control.

So now he had to be more shrewd in how he used the guitar, as promised, only using it in emergencies, because he did not want to ruin his relationship with Tanya, no matter how much good he could accomplish. If his wife asked him to, he would throw away the guitar in a heartbeat, treasuring his doting wife who was his number one supporter through thick or thin.

Hearing the front door open, Bill went over to his wife and gave her a kiss as she was relieved to see he was okay. “Honey, you’re okay? I saw on the news…dear, your hands!”

Gently picking up his bandaged knuckles, she patted him on the back, understanding that he did the right thing, potentially saving people’s lives by calming down the suspect.

“Babe, you have to promise to be careful alright?”

Wiping away a tear on her face with his fingers, Bill kissed her once again, confirming that he acknowledged her concerns and would take the promise she asked. “I’ll be careful dear. Don’t worry.”

Embracing in her husband’s arms, Tanya felt slightly better, after nearly freaking out hearing about the robbery at the bank where he worked.

“Now about dinner…”

As if on cue, Bill’s stomach gurgled loudly much to the amusement of Tanya. “I’ll get started with the turkey, hang on, okay? Ha ha.”

Marinating the drumsticks in a tandoori sauce before baking it in the oven, she also boiled some potatoes to be made into mash and sautéed some string beans in garlic and oil. Checking on the rice being boiled and steamed, Tanya wiped the table before setting out the dishes and cutlery in preparation. Hearing the alarm go off signaling the chicken was done, she took out the tray and laid it on the table alongside the rest of the dishes.

“Looks delicious dear! But one question: is it Indian or Irish themed cooking today?”

“Ha ha, maybe Indian-Irish fusion?”

“Interesting, let’s dig in!”

Laying on his bed with Tanya beside him gently snoring, Bill couldn’t sleep thinking about the worry he was placing on his wife by using the guitar. Gently stroking his wife’s cheek, he thought back to his promise, to only use his power in an emergency.

The next day, while driving down to work, he happened to took over at the statue where a guard was standing alert as part of a celebrated landmark. Suddenly, a masked figure came up from behind and shot the soldier, looking left and right before rushing into a nearby building.

Getting out of the car, Bill ran to the soldier along with several other civilians, and he decided to run off to catch the murderer, leaving the others to care for the wounded man. Running into the building, he could hear the killer’s voice demanding entry into the inner rooms. Taking out his guitar, he started playing a soft melancholy lullaby but upon hearing the music, the killer aimed his rifle at Bill and shot him, hitting his guitar and splintering it, just as the song had its effect and he lay down his gun in remorse.

Looking at the guitar, Bill was unsure what would happen, but he had a sinking feeling it was not going to bode well. As his eyes clouded over in bloodshot red, he suddenly took the killer’s rifle and began a rampage shooting at the air and yelling at the top of his lungs. After nearly fifteen minutes, Bill was still in his berserk mode, and something wasn’t right as he wasn’t calming down as he usually did. All the feelings of hate, murder and treachery filled Bill’s mind, so much so that his character was overshadowed by the killer’s emotions.

After being hit with several tranquilizer darts, Bill fell into a deep sleep and was swiftly arrested along with the original killer.

Getting the call from the police that her husband was in custody, Tanya immediately rushed to the hospital to see Bill in the psych ward locked in a windowless room. Looking through the small window, she couldn’t even recognize the man inside. Bill had torn his clothes, and in his rags, he looked more like a homeless person than a bank manager.

“Sir, was there a guitar in the crime scene by any chance?” Tanya was desperate at this point and knew her husband’s condition had something to do with the guitar.

“Why yes, there was a broken guitar at the steps outside the building, we have it in evidence right now, why is that important?”

Telling the investigators everything she knew about the guitar and Bill’s powers with it, they were at first hesitant to believe, but decided to give it a try and repair the guitar to see if Bill would come around. They also couldn’t explain how the original killer gave up so easily, so they decided to go with Tanya’s theory as it was the only one they had to go with.

Several days later, with the guitar repaired, Tanya took it to the room and played the instrument just outside Bill’s door so he could hear. Playing ‘Hush little baby, don’t say a word’, Bill’s eyes slowly came back to normal, no longer blood-shot, and he began to calm down. Eventually he sat down crying, much to the surprise of the investigators and soon the door was opened and he and Tanya were able to embrace once again.

Through his tears, Bill asked Tanya two questions: “Dear, did I stop the killer?”

“Yes, yes you did honey.”

“Dear, did I hurt anyone while berserk?”

“No, thank God you didn’t. You’re going to be alright honey, okay? I’m here and I’ll never leave you.”

Examining the guitar, the doctors were amazed at how Bill’s condition had radically improved, and soon it was shipped off to a research facility to determine the source of its powers.

Meanwhile, Bill was just glad his wife had figure it out, and that they were both safe for the time being. Kissing her one more time, they talked about what happened in the last twenty-four hours, even laughing at the fact they had flirted with danger and had escaped relatively unscathed. Tanya reassured Bill that he had done the right thing and they both were glad the casualties of the attack were limited. Staring into each other’s eyes, they were both gracious that fate had given them a second chance, to continue living together as a joyous and content family.

The End

family
Like

About the Creator

Jesse Leung

A tech savvy philosopher interested in ethics, morals and purpose.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.