The 6th Song

The strum of a guitar wakes Junior up from his sleep. What time is it? He asks himself. But what is time? That’s what the clock tower does for them. The clock tower tells time with an old iron bell. At eight in the morning, it rings eight times. At eight at night, it does the same. That is all anyone really needs to know. The sun has been covered for years now; ten and a half to be precise. Who’s even counting anymore? Most of the people are more worried about their work and collections; or making light.
At first the system was hard to get used to, but now it is simple habit. The lamp lighters are the first ones awake every morning. Their God calls them lamp lighters, though all they do is flip a simple switch. Lamp lighters are never late, and they never sleep in. The ones who do are never seen again. By the eighth ring of the old iron bell, all of the lights in this small world are buzzing. The lighters think they have the most demanding job because of the strict hours, but their simple minds could never comprehend what goes on in the lives of the other people in this world. When the lights are lit, they are free to do whatever they want. Once the world is illuminated, the street performers emerge from their caverns. When the street performers get up at Nine, the rest of the world rises with them; This is when the work starts. The street performers have it the easiest because their job is to play, and that’s what they like to do. The only drawback is that they must return to their homes before finishing their sixth song. They are the chosen ones, but only they know it.
Everybody had always taken everything for granted. They all wanted to run the world, and that is exactly what it got them. Now they do run the world, mechanically, and they would do anything to go back to their old lives. The sun isn’t gone for good, but they don’t know that. Their God made it dark, as their punishment. When the men were fighting to reach the top, the musicians went underground. They honed their skills and did what they loved, while the politicians argued and Their God watched. Nobody was aware of the God at the time, and so many of these people decided that power could solve their problems. They all thought of the street performers as trash, while the performers pitied their ignorance. The performers stuck with what made them happy, rather than trying to find happiness through everyone else’s corruption. This is why they are seen by Him as pure.
After the performers retreat to their caves, the women go to the factories. The men take care of their families of two perfect kids each; One boy, one girl. All of the strangest children are put on the streets for the nights and never seen again. If they can’t even color inside the lines, how are they supposed to grow up and get an education? The men are still looking to reach the top, and falling deeper into this mess. The women spend their days trying to invent light. They all laugh at the musicians. How foolish!? They think. Music!
The musicians ignore the rest of the world’s closed-minded approach, though, and teach the strangest children how to make music. Only the sixth song can bring the light back, and those children will be the ones to complete it when the time comes.