Star Dust
Star Dust
Donna set her luggage down just before walking out the door and turned back to face her son.
“I’ll only be gone for a few days, honey.”
“I know, mom,” Gerard said with a sigh as he hugged her once again. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Besides, you need a vacation.”
“Great. Oh, and don’t forget to feed Nikki twice a day; she’s very selective.”
“We know, we know,” Mikey answered, walking in from the kitchen. “Now get going or you’ll miss your flight.” Another few hugs and goodbyes, and their mother finally left the house. An eerie silence set in once she was gone, leaving Gerard and Mikey wondering what they should do first.
“So, besides feeding the cat, what are we supposed to do?” Mikey asked with a laugh. Gerard simply shrugged and walked away. The younger Way brother rolled his eyes and went to find the feline in question.
Gerard made his way up the steps to the attic, glancing around at the family photos lining the walls. Old, faded pictures of little-kid birthday parties and other such gatherings formed tiled wallpaper following the wooden railing of the staircase. He found himself smiling at the memories as his eyes fell upon each one, subconsciously reaching for the handle of the door at the same time.
He stopped abruptly upon seeing one of the smallest pictures on the wall. It was a simple black and white portrait with torn edges and a horizontal crease cutting through the middle, but he couldn’t stop staring at it. The smiling face of his grandmother clearly stared back at him, an image of her at a younger age. He sighed, opening the door to the attic, and stepped inside before he got too distracted.
The heavy scent of dust entered his nose, and he waved one hand through the air to help disperse it. Though the room lay in shadow, he could pick out a few objects he recognized from years past, mostly old furniture now covered with white sheets. He gave a single breath of a laugh at one memory of the last time he had been up there.
“They’re not ghosts, Mikey,” he muttered to himself as he paced deeper into the room. He suddenly tripped over something with one foot, taking several wide, awkward strides to recover his balance. He looked back at the object and saw a short, wooden box resting in one corner. His eyes widened as he realized he could’ve damaged it by being so careless. He crawled over to it and sat back on his heels to study it better.
“I wonder if this still works…” He turned the hand crank on the side to wind it up, then gently picked up the needle and placed it at the start of the groove, smiling as the music began to play.
“And now the purple dust of twilight time steals across the meadows of my heart…”
“High up in the sky the little stars climb,” he sang along softly, “always reminding me that we’re apart…” Gerard couldn’t help but brush away a tear escaping from one eye. The song brought back a flood of memories from every time his grandmother had played it for him, the lyrics filling his mind so easily it was as if they had never left.
“Reminiscing a little, Gerard?” Mikey asked with a smile as he walked over to the record player. Gerard smiled up at him, but sorrow filled his eyes.
“I’ve always wanted to do this, you know,” he said sadly. “Just for fun, maybe as a bonus track.”
“Do what?” Mikey asked in confusion. Gerard casually motioned to the record player with one hand.
“Cover this song.”
“Then why don’t we? I think it’d be fun,” Mikey said with excitement in his voice. Gerard shook his head, causing his younger brother to frown. “Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s completely out of the genre,” Gerard noted. “Even for something out of the ordinary. Even for us.”
“Why not raise the bar?” Mikey countered. “We should totally try it.”
“We’ve already covered enough songs already, though. Pretty soon we’ll stop being original altogether,” Gerard added.
“You know that’s not true,” Mikey answered. “That’ll never happen, not as long as we have you.”
Gerard sighed and continued. “It’s not like we can hire a full orchestra for one song, let alone have it on stage.”
Mikey cracked a smile. “The Arrogant Worms managed it just fine.” Even Gerard grinned at this, but before he could think of another excuse, Mikey spoke again. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“…Terrified, actually,” Gerard admitted, letting his hunched shoulders fall in defeat. “I mean, what would our fans say?”
“They’d love it,” Mikey assured him. “Honestly, I think you need to trust them more, Gerard. Keep the faith a little.”
“But what if-” Gerard started to say.
“‘What if’ this, ‘what if’ that.” Mikey sighed. “Look, even if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for her.” With that, the younger Way brother stood up and left to find the still-missing cat. Gerard sat there, stunned, wondering what to do.
He decided the only thing he could do was finish the song. Besides, if he was going to follow up on his unspoken promise to himself, he had to know it inside and out.
“Love is now the star dust of yesterday, the music of the years gone by…”
“I’ll only be gone for a few days, honey.”
“I know, mom,” Gerard said with a sigh as he hugged her once again. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Besides, you need a vacation.”
“Great. Oh, and don’t forget to feed Nikki twice a day; she’s very selective.”
“We know, we know,” Mikey answered, walking in from the kitchen. “Now get going or you’ll miss your flight.” Another few hugs and goodbyes, and their mother finally left the house. An eerie silence set in once she was gone, leaving Gerard and Mikey wondering what they should do first.
“So, besides feeding the cat, what are we supposed to do?” Mikey asked with a laugh. Gerard simply shrugged and walked away. The younger Way brother rolled his eyes and went to find the feline in question.
Gerard made his way up the steps to the attic, glancing around at the family photos lining the walls. Old, faded pictures of little-kid birthday parties and other such gatherings formed tiled wallpaper following the wooden railing of the staircase. He found himself smiling at the memories as his eyes fell upon each one, subconsciously reaching for the handle of the door at the same time.
He stopped abruptly upon seeing one of the smallest pictures on the wall. It was a simple black and white portrait with torn edges and a horizontal crease cutting through the middle, but he couldn’t stop staring at it. The smiling face of his grandmother clearly stared back at him, an image of her at a younger age. He sighed, opening the door to the attic, and stepped inside before he got too distracted.
The heavy scent of dust entered his nose, and he waved one hand through the air to help disperse it. Though the room lay in shadow, he could pick out a few objects he recognized from years past, mostly old furniture now covered with white sheets. He gave a single breath of a laugh at one memory of the last time he had been up there.
“They’re not ghosts, Mikey,” he muttered to himself as he paced deeper into the room. He suddenly tripped over something with one foot, taking several wide, awkward strides to recover his balance. He looked back at the object and saw a short, wooden box resting in one corner. His eyes widened as he realized he could’ve damaged it by being so careless. He crawled over to it and sat back on his heels to study it better.
“I wonder if this still works…” He turned the hand crank on the side to wind it up, then gently picked up the needle and placed it at the start of the groove, smiling as the music began to play.
“And now the purple dust of twilight time steals across the meadows of my heart…”
“High up in the sky the little stars climb,” he sang along softly, “always reminding me that we’re apart…” Gerard couldn’t help but brush away a tear escaping from one eye. The song brought back a flood of memories from every time his grandmother had played it for him, the lyrics filling his mind so easily it was as if they had never left.
“Reminiscing a little, Gerard?” Mikey asked with a smile as he walked over to the record player. Gerard smiled up at him, but sorrow filled his eyes.
“I’ve always wanted to do this, you know,” he said sadly. “Just for fun, maybe as a bonus track.”
“Do what?” Mikey asked in confusion. Gerard casually motioned to the record player with one hand.
“Cover this song.”
“Then why don’t we? I think it’d be fun,” Mikey said with excitement in his voice. Gerard shook his head, causing his younger brother to frown. “Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s completely out of the genre,” Gerard noted. “Even for something out of the ordinary. Even for us.”
“Why not raise the bar?” Mikey countered. “We should totally try it.”
“We’ve already covered enough songs already, though. Pretty soon we’ll stop being original altogether,” Gerard added.
“You know that’s not true,” Mikey answered. “That’ll never happen, not as long as we have you.”
Gerard sighed and continued. “It’s not like we can hire a full orchestra for one song, let alone have it on stage.”
Mikey cracked a smile. “The Arrogant Worms managed it just fine.” Even Gerard grinned at this, but before he could think of another excuse, Mikey spoke again. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“…Terrified, actually,” Gerard admitted, letting his hunched shoulders fall in defeat. “I mean, what would our fans say?”
“They’d love it,” Mikey assured him. “Honestly, I think you need to trust them more, Gerard. Keep the faith a little.”
“But what if-” Gerard started to say.
“‘What if’ this, ‘what if’ that.” Mikey sighed. “Look, even if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for her.” With that, the younger Way brother stood up and left to find the still-missing cat. Gerard sat there, stunned, wondering what to do.
He decided the only thing he could do was finish the song. Besides, if he was going to follow up on his unspoken promise to himself, he had to know it inside and out.
“Love is now the star dust of yesterday, the music of the years gone by…”