Unforgettable Melody - S01 E49

Story 4 hours ago

Unforgettable Melody - S01 E49

Read Story: SEASON 1 SEASON 49

Taking a sharp breath in at her use of the title of Master, he replied, “Yeah… yeah everything’s fine. It’s strange, but I just got this urge to check this thing over again. I haven’t really touched it since the day you were born.”

“Ok,” she said, appearing to sigh in relief. “I’m sorry, I was momentarily worried that you were considering…”

“No way,” he interrupted, standing to move towards her. “You are the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me. I would never wish to get rid of you, nor to imprison you back in this thing for any length of time.”

Kissing him sweetly, she replied, “I’m glad.”

Looking intently at the locket, Mike asked, “There isn’t any way that just keeping this around would result in you accidentally returning to your vessel, is there?”

“Not at all. As the one who released me, you are in complete control of me, as well as my powers and my vessel. If it is not your wish for me to return to my vessel, I will not, even if I were to hold it in my hand. As I mentioned previously, all of its magical qualities seem to have dissipated from it since my release.”

“Good to know,” he replied, sitting back on the bed. “Still, it’s strange. Look on the back. The inscription here wasn’t an inscription before I released you; it previously only appeared when I touched the stone on the front. What do you think that means?”

Examining the locket, Melody responded, “I’m not sure. I really can’t speak to the specific nature of the vessel, unfortunately.”

“So, what did you experience while you were inside of it?”

“Well, truthfully, I was not exactly inside the locket,” she explained. “The locket is merely the doorway to my actual vessel. Think of it as a lock, and the puzzle you solved was the key. My vessel itself is more of a separate dimension. While in it, I did not perceive anything in the outside world, not even the passage of time. I just… existed.”

“That’s awful!”

“While it was not an unpleasant experience, I definitely have no desire to go back, if given the choice, of course.”

“Hmm… So I assume you were created by a jinn or genie more powerful than yourself, correct?” Mike inquired.

“Yes, although my knowledge of who that being was seems to be unknown to me.”

“Really? You have no idea who created you?”

“No. It may fall under the restriction of being unable to detect other magical beings, though I am again unsure,” Melody speculated.

“Well, did you exist before being placed inside the vessel, or were you simply created inside of it?”

She closed her eyes, searching her mind for any sort of answer. Finally, she said, “I can tell that I was created before being placed in the vessel, yet it seems I am completely unable to access any memories of my existence before being placed in my vessel. I can’t say for sure the reason for my lack of knowledge of my past, but it does strike me as odd.”

“Wow. So you have no idea where you originally came from… I wonder if the inscription on the locket might hold any clues?” Mike wondered.

Turning to the verse in her new Bible indicated by the inscription, Melody read it a few times, but was unable to find any significance hidden within it. “Hmm… I’ll file it away for future reference,” she said. “Still, I don’t think we should dwell on this too much. I’m focused on the here and now, and I couldn’t be happier with my life and everything the future holds.”

“No arguments there,” Mike agreed, pulling her in for a kiss.

Putting the locket away for the time being, Mike and Melody spent the next couple of hours playing video games. Mike introduced her to one of his favorite games, the Uncharted series. Melody quite liked the fun, yet realistic tone of the stories, and was particularly charmed by the excellent characters. She definitely saw much of Mike’s sarcastic yet lovable personality in Nathan Drake’s character. Around 5:30, they changed out of their lounging clothes and began to prepare some food for Stuart and Darcy’s arrival. Mike worked on some easy finger food, making some frozen chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks, while Melody cooked some meatballs in spaghetti sauce on the stovetop. Almost as soon as the food was done, there was a knock at their door.

Stuart and Darcy had arrived practically at the same time; he was walking up the sidewalk right after the door had opened. Stuart wore his ASO Low Brass T-shirt, complete with the section’s nickname of “Heavy Metal.” Darcy wore a navy blue tank top, lower cut than she usually wore, and tan capris. As Stuart entered, Mike introduced him to Melody, eliciting an inquisitive look from him. As Stuart extended his hand to shake hers, he surprisingly flipped his double-jointed fingers back and forth, causing Melody to squeal and laugh in amusement. A few more exchanged pleasantries, and the group headed to the kitchen to fill their plates with food.

Enjoying their munchies in the living room, Stuart listened to Mike and Melody’s story of how they met. He turned to Darcy, questioning how she’s not more intrigued by all of this, who responded that she met Melody on Friday when she came to pick Mike up. As the conversation turned to Melody’s photography business, Darcy asked to see her full website, rather than just the samples she had previously seen on her phone. The girls grabbed Mike’s laptop and adjourned to the small table near the kitchen, laughing and giggling all the while.

I’m gonna try to plant the seeds of interest for Stuart in Darcy, try to gauge her receptiveness, she thought to Mike.

Sounds good, I’ll work on Stuart’s confidence myself.

As the girls conversed at the table, Mike and Stuart fired up Mario Kart Wii, having played each other before. They were pretty evenly matched, though Mike’s recent races with Melody ensured that he was in great practice. As they played, Stuart and Mike chatted quietly.

“Dude, your girlfriend’s something else,” Stuart said.

“Yep, she’s one of a kind,” Mike agreed.

Stuart mused, “Wish I could find someone like that…”

Leaning a bit closer to him, Mike asked, “Who says you can't?” He slightly tilted his head towards Darcy.

Snorting slightly, Stuart replied, “You’re crazy man. I’d never have a shot with her. She’s way out of my league.”

“I disagree. She just broke up with her boyfriend who, as we both know, was a total dickhead. Believe me when I say, she’s completely over him and ready to move on. She wants something… real.”

“Ok, that’s all well and good, but I’m not even on her radar,” Stuart protested.

“So?” Mike retorted. “If you’re not on her radar, that just means that she’s never thought about you in that capacity. But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t find you attractive if she were to see you in that light.”

Thinking for a few minutes as they finished their race, Stuart finally asked, “So, how do I get her to see me in that light?”

“Well, you’ve already started the process. You were your usual, friendly, if weird self in meeting Melody. Those two have quickly bonded and become good friends, as you can see, and girls love a guy who treats their girlfriends well.”

“Dude, just LOOK at her! It’s impossible not to be nice to her. She’s not just pretty, her personality is infectious.”

Chuckling to himself, Mike replied, “That’s exactly why I know you two would be great together. Stephen was with Darcy when the two of us met them for dinner on Friday. By the end of the night, Stephen was doing everything he could think of to try and steal Melody from me. He even grabbed her on the dance floor and tried to force her to dance with him.”

Wide-eyed, Stuart asked, “What happened then?”