It was beautiful. The metallic sounds of every string reverberated throughout the shop. Servel's fingers moved nimbly from chord to chord. Each chord progression was a beautiful melody. As Servel hummed and strummed to old folk tunes she started to sing as well.

  "You have to be a worried man, to sing a worried song. Don't you worry now, I won't be worried long."

  _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  "The woman near the water

  Sang a somber tune.

  The women near the water

  sang of the death of Sue.

  The women near the water

  Washed another's clothes.

  The women near the water

  warned of the death of Rose."

  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  "There once was a group of little men who were always so blue.

  But one day they smiled again because they knew what they wanted to do.

  They all had small caps and hats, but they were all so bland.

  They wanted to add color so they took it into their own hands.

  They said let's find a flower, we will get the color there.

  So they found a little Rose with auburn-colored hair.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  That little Rose did scream and shout, but they squeezed all the color out.

  With their colorful hats, they were known as the Red Caps."

  _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  She sang until the sun was high, while the child watched with wonder. As the sky became orange she stopped and put away her invention.

  "Come on, kid," Servel said. "Shops are closing up."

  The child hopped down from the table she was sitting on and went up and hugged Servel with warmth and a smile.

  "Aww, see you, kid."

  Servel watched as the silent child walked out of her store and listened as she heard the girl's voice for the first time, humming a song she had played earlier.

  The child walked down Main Street with a smile on her face. She loved music. She started to walk a bit faster as she rushed towards the garden on the west side of town. That was her safe space. Filled with plants, animals, and the perfect spot for a nap. She sat underneath a tree on top of a bundle of dried weeds, opened her mouth, and sang.

  It wasn't much, just a song she heard her friend sing. It was a sad song, but the girl's heart was filled with joy. She sang everything she knew. She sang the folk songs her friend taught her, she sang the songs the bards played on the street. She sang the lullaby the old lady at the orphanage sang to her and her friends. She sang until the moon was high and moonlight shone down upon her like a spotlight, as if her mother was watching and giving her encouragement. She sang until she was exhausted. She sang like all of the words and emotions that she couldn't express were overflowing. Her questions, her anxiety, her happiness. Everything. She sang until she fell asleep under the moonlight.