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The Day The Music Died

Imagine Life Without Music

By C. M. SearsPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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The Day The Music Died
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

It was just a regular day, things were going like every day before...normal. I was at home just bopping around my house to the radio, doing laundry, dishes, planning dinner for me and my hubby and having a normal, wonderful day...then it all came to a screeching halt, this was the day the music died...literally!

By Ivan Kuznetsov on Unsplash

Suddenly, the music stops on the radio and this annoucement comes over the air "this is not a joke, I repeat, this is NOT a joke! due to the recent threats and attacks from several countries around the globe, the President is declaring marshall law as of 4 pm today, you are to stay in your homes, follow all instructions given by the national guardsmen in your designated areas and you will be safe, thank you". I stood there listening to this gobbledegook on the radio and decided to investigate, so I open my door, walk down my sidewalk, I am met by a man in a military uniform telling everyone coming out to see what was happening, to get back into their homes and wait for further instruction. Naturally we all started asking what was going on and he informed us that we were officially at war with not one, but three countries! We asked what countries they were, and he stated that this information was confidential and on a need to know basis, and that we didn't need to know. I was standing there in a daze because this was so highly unlikely that I felt that I must be dreaming! My husband then comes walking through the door with a look of complete pannick on his face and all he can say is "I can't believe this is happening, it's complete madness"!

By Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash

I said "what's happening, what countries are we fighting, Germany? Japan? Afghanistan? do you know"? he said he didn't and that they were staying very tight lipped, but that he didn't think there was any war, he believed we were literally turning into a socialist nation...overnight! Suddenly the streets were strewn with military troops and tanks by the dozen on all streets in the city. We were given numbers and hearded like cattle to get whatever food we could get, and we were only allotted one hour to get what two people could live on for a week, and we had to rush to get as much as we could carry in two paper bags and then we were quickly ushered back to our tiny apartment where we would stay until the next week. They were basic needs like toilet paper, soap, laundry detergent, canned meat, canned soups and canned vegetables. No bread, or anything that could spoil quickly, like eggs, fruit, or fresh vegetables. I was thankful we at least got rice, pasta and tomato sauce because we had every spice known to man so I could make decent dishes that were not always the same. We were only allowed out to get the groceries and only one of us could go, so we would switch off every week just so we could get out of the house for an hour, which was all we were allowed to get our shopping lists done. Life had become so meaningless, all we did was listen to the propaganda being forced down our throats, play cards, eat and sleep. We could not discuss anything going on because they had cameras in every room of the house...yes even the bathroom! They watched everything we did...literally every move we made was being watched.

By Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash

I decided if I couldn't hear music then I could at least sing couldn't I? I was answered in a heartbeat with a very loud screeching sound over the radio (which was made to be kept on 24/7 so we could be programmed with the messages they would repeat over and over daily) and suddenly we hear "You will cease and desist immediately, no singing or music of any kind, no storytelling, or reading of any materials other than the materials you were given by the Establishment, if you refuse to cooperate, you will be made to pay the consequences...you have 1 minute to comply". That was it, the end of any life left for any of us. I could live with almost anything, lock me up! I can deal with that! I almost never left the house anyway, but what I cannot live without, is my insatiable craving and love for music. I used to hate rap and grunge metal, but I believe right now I would settle for that, just any music! I would rather die than go through life without it, but I supposed that's being a bit dramatic. I walk over to our kitchen table after cleaning up the evening dishes and I bent over to pick up a piece of paper that was lying on the floor when I feel my cherished locket release and fall from my neck. I have had a 14k gold heart shaped locket around my neck since my 13th birthday. It belonged to my mother and for her it held pictures of my aunt Carol and my mother, they were very close growing up so for her and Carols 13th birthday which were two weeks apart, my grandmother bought them both heart shaped lockets with pictures of each of them in the locket to symbolize thier very close relationship she said to both of them "sisterhood is a bond nobody can ever break, let no one come between you". My mother wore hers until I turned 13, then she put a picture of me and her inside to symbolize our very close relationship since I was an only child. I loved my mother until she recently passed away, I was heartbroken, but I understood that she needed to be with my father who passed two years before, she missed him so very much. As I watched it fall to the floor it seemed like it was falling in slow motion, so I tried to catch it before it hit the floor, but I was too late, it bounced onto the wood, the locket opened and the hinge snapped in two. The locket was very old, it had withstood being worn for over 75 years total and withstood the test of time. I stood there with the two pieces in my hand staring at it and i feel myself break! I fell to the floor sobbing and holding this locket clutched in my hand. You would think that would be the last thing I would be crying over...a broken locket? My husband comes over and picks me up, looks me in the eyes and says "honey, were going to be fine, this won't last forever" as I bury my wet tear stained face into his chest and try to stop crying. He then unfold my fingers to see the locket in two pieces, and raises my face so I can look him in the eyes and he tells me with a beautiful smile across his gorgeous face "did you forget that I am an engineer? I will have this fixed in a jiffy, now please stop crying...ya big baby"! I immediately start laughing through my hysterics and I forgot about the craziness of life or a lack thereof for a minute. That locket was all I really felt like I had left of a life long past. My husband and I married out of college and my parents loved him, so we would go over every sunday and mom and I would make a nice meal while my husband chatted up my dad about "man" stuff. We would go outside into thier backyard and take our drinks sit out by the fire pit and listen to music until late in the evening. I loved those times because it was such a wonderfully normal time in our lives when life just was...singing, laughing, dancing...just living life.

Now we only have the memories of a life, nomore do we know the joys of singing and dancing...or getting a good belly laugh. The music is what I miss most and how every song could stir feelings and memories. I then realized that they can't stop me from remembering how amazing it was. I can sit quietly and remember the music to myself...so that is what I do now, locked down in our tiny apartment, is remember the music I love...and there isn't a damn thing the "establishment" can do about it, I am a fighter and I will not let the music die, for as long as I can still hear it in my mind, then It won't. This may be a terrible time to be alive, but I refuse to believe it will last forever. That is the survivalist in me and all of us, we shall prevail and god will see us through, with a song and a prayer...I bid you farewell.

Short Story
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About the Creator

C. M. Sears

I am learning more about writing every time I write a new story, whether it be fiction or fact. I love this platform and will continue to write and learn...if you like what you read in any of my stories please click the heart.

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