The shrill cry of the telephone splits the air, a discordant prelude to the shattering sound of a broken promise. I pick up the receiver and mutter a halfhearted “Hello”

Laughter I hear, the tinkling of soft jazz and then your voice in the background, mirthful as all the rest. I realize you’ve left on your cell phone. You have my number on speed dial.

How sweet.

I scream out your name again and again, hoping you’ll hear me, but my voice is locked away. I’m there yet not part of the crowd, no longer a part of you. I’m a nothing but a ghost, a pale reflection of fading harmony. Just an irrelevant shadow once again. I shiver. The air has suddenly become cold. My mind begs me to hang up, but I can’t give in, I won’t! My heart reaches out, struggling to tie the gap, but to no avail. I wish you’d just pick up, just let me feel not so empty anymore, just-

And then I hear the words I thought were only for me, all in sweet, dulcet tones.

Crack.

Crescendo. The fires of passion turned to anger.

Crack.

Forte. A requiem for the heart.

Crack.

Piano. The last whispers of a dying soul.

Crack.

Fermata. Bonds, once thought eternal snapped in two.

Crack.

Subito. Shards of emotion cut my face to ribbons.

Whole note. Half note. Quarter note. Eighth note. Sixteenth- The beats become irrelevant, just as the rhythm of the life flowing through my body.

Death in life, life in death. A duet that was never meant to be.

First ending. Second ending. Finale.

Sanity, reality crumbling away in chromatic progession.

Major crushed to minor. Fading into darkness.

Three…two…one….

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I stare at the broken shards of plastic embedded in my hand. The music is gone. So is the laughter. But your voice still echoes in my mind: a mad symphony that will never cease to exist.