A Ghost Story (not horror)

In an old town, there exists an urban legend that whoever meets the prince of the past shall be doomed forever. The prince of the past would often appear at the west wing of an old abandoned school – the old music room to be precise. Every time the clock would strike three in the morning, the prince would play a tune, a sad melody, on the piano of the old music room. If anyone was capable of calming the prince down, they said that the person would be granted a wish.

* * *** * *

''Michelle, are you sure this is safe? I mean, they must have abandoned this building for a good reason, right. They can't have just abandoned it because of an urban legend, can they?'' Claire stopped midway the third flight of stairs. She held the flashlight in her right hand and handrail tight in her left.

''Don't chicken out now, Claire. We're almost there. Just a few more steps and we're - ahhh!'' Michelle fell a few feet below but managed to grab unto something. She happened to have stepped on a bad rotten board that was about to give way any second. ''Claire, help! My hand it's slipping!'' As Claire's hand finally let go, Charles came and caught her.

''Michelle, are you alright down there? It seems that I can't really get down from here. There's a really huge gaping hole between the last step you took and the one I'm on.'' Claire kneeled down and called out to her through the hole her friend had just made.

''Put me down you gorilla!''

''Is that how you thank someone who just saved your life?''

''I never asked you to save me!''

''You ingrate!''

Claire finally felt a sense of relief upon hearing their heartwarming conversation. She giggled and called out to them, ''Hey, lovebirds! It seems that you're okay thanks to your prince charming! If you don't mind, I would love to get down to from here.''

''Claire is with you?'' Charles managed to ask after putting Michelle down. ''I can't believe you. You even dragged my sister with you?!''

''Charles, I know Claire is your precious twin sister who is younger than you by a minute-''

''Three minutes and twelve seconds.'' He said proudly.

''-whatever. The point is I won't put her in danger.''

''Right.'' He said with sarcasm. ''Anyhow, go call the elders and ask for help. I'll see what I can do.'' he instructed Michelle. ''Claire! Wait for me, okay? I'll be up there in jiffy.'' he called out.

''Okay!'' Claire called back. She got up and walked a few steps up and headed for the old music room. Since I'm here, why not go through the liberty of checking if the prince of the past is real. She thought to herself. As she turned the knob, she heard the grand clock strike three. DONG. DONG. DONG. Te~ne~na~ne~na~ne~na~ne~nan~ta~na~na~nan~na~na~nan~na~na~nan~The prince is really playing such a sad melody. I wonder what sad memories he bears. Thoughts filled Claire's mind as she pushed the door open. There at a glance, the beautiful prince sat playing the piano. No one would think that he was a ghost from the past.

''M-My prince, why are you all alone in this room?'' Claire asked when she finally found the courage to speak to a ghost.

The prince paused and looked her way, his face tear-streaked. ''Prince? I am no prince. My name is Rafael. Alone in this room is not my choice, you see. I was left behind by everyone else. Left to rot in this awful, wretched place. And so, I play music to pass time.''

"Left you? But why leave you in such a place? And first of all why leave you?"

''You don't understand. I'll let you glimpse into my memory.'' Rafael stood and approached Claire. He lifted his arm and gently touched her forehead with his index and middle finger. He closed his eyes and levitated with Claire.

* * *** * *

There were two children playing in flower garden inside the gate. The boy seemed to be about the same age as the girl. They were running around, chasing each other. The girl stopped when something caught her attention. The boy bumped unto the latter.

''What is it?'' the boy asked.

The girl pointed to a small abandoned building seen right above the trees. ''There. Rafael, what's that building for?''

''Oh, that. You just moved here so you don't know yet. That's our old school. We go to a different school now, though. The elders are thinking of shutting it down since a few accidents had occurred because the floorboards are already breaking apart.''

''Oh. That's just sad. They're going to leave and forget something that isn't useful anymore. What about the memories they left behind in it?''

''Memories?''

''Yeah.''

''The time keeper stores it. He's one of the elders.''

''Does...does your school have a piano?''

''Uh, our current school doesn't but the old one does.''

''Can we...can we play it?''

''Sure, but if the elders find out, we might get in trouble. Are you sure you want to go?''

''Yup!''

Nighttime came. The girl met with the boy in front of the old school. The grand clock struck twelve. They entered the premises and turned on their flashlights. They went up the three flights of stairs and left towards the west wing. They opened the door of the old music room. It was clean unlike all the other rooms inside the building. It was as if someone was maintaining it.

''There's the piano you were looking for.'' the boy pointed towards it. ''I can't believe that they were able to keep it sparkling clean after three years.''

The girl headed straight towards the piano. She went for the stool and sat. She felt the keyboards as if that was the first time she had touched a keyboard in all her life. After what seemed like forever to the girl, she played it.

Te~ne~na~ne~na~ne~na~ne~nan~ta~na~na~nan~na~na~nan~na~na~nan~

After playing, the grand clock struck three. So much time had passed without them realizing. The girl jumped down from the stool. She approached the boy and hugged him. As she held him in her arms, she whispered to him,''Thank you. Goodbye.'' The girl opened the window wide open and jumped.

* * *** * *

A new scene came into view.

The same boy came into view. He looked a bit older. He was again with a girl with the same age as he is. They were playing hide & seek this time. It was the girl's turn to hide. The boy counted to twenty. When he finished, he saw the girl gazing at the old abandoned school building. He felt a shiver go down at the back of his spine.

''Hey, you're supposed to hide, remember?'' the boy reminded, but he was simply ignored.

The girl asked the same question as the previous one did.''There. Rafael, what's that building for?''

''That's our old school building. There's nothing in there.''

''Why aren't they using that building anymore?''

''The elders are thinking of shutting it down since a few accidents had occurred because the floorboards are already breaking apart.''

''Does ...does it have a piano?''

''Why do you ask?''

''I wanna play it.'' the girl looked at him with such intensity that it was hypnotizing. The boy couldn't say no.

That same night, they met in front of the school gate. Neither of them were late. When they arrived the grand clock struck twelve.

They went up the same three flights of stairs. They turned left and headed towards the west wing. When they neared the music room, the girl stopped. The boy bumped unto the girl freeing him from his thoughts.

''What's wrong?''

''It's calling me.''

''What?! What's calling you?'' the boy asked in confusion.

''It. The piano. I mean.'' the girl answered then pointed at the piano as the door slid open.

''