Chapter 16: Comfort
"Cheer up, sister Ella! I want to hear you play the piano. Play your comfort piece for me!" Lumi said.
She turned to Daniella with a big round pair of puppy dog eyes, stunning the both of us. It was irresistible, a fatal attack to our hearts.
I turned my attention to Daniella, whose heart had melted. She stared at Lumi, her mouth hung agape, little hearts appearing in her dazed eyes. She roused out of the leather couch and stumbled towards the piano bench.
"How can she be so cute," Daniella mumbled aloud, earning a sheepish smile on Lumi.
I preyed on her zombified state and scooped Lumi into an embrace. My gaze was sharp. I made sure the hug was tight, such that at the end of the day, I reserved her hugs, not anyone else.
You have look at me with those eyes later, dumpling.
Hmph! You're jealous again, Dad! You told me to ask sister Ella!
Where did you learn those eyes? Look at the effect. You're mind controlling her. You're not allowed to make that expression to anyone but me from now on.
It was from your memory. I only wanted to cheer sister Ella up!
Lumi protested the hug with some squirming, but I remained firm.
I'm surprised you get along so well with her, dumpling.
She stopped struggling at those words.
Y-you were right, Dad. She feels kind. I think she understands me... s-she's gone through the same thing.
My heart was slow in making its way up my body, but it stayed there as a lump caught in my throat. No wonder they bonded as fast as they did. Somehow, I never considered that.
I did not know how to comfort her and that troubled me.
My gaze lingered on the silent Lumi, then to Daniella. She now sat at the piano with her mind and body composed, the back of her arch elegant, her long fingers dainty. Before I could make up my mind, her fingers strummed the first few keys.
The notes were not without a haunting familiarity. I was no expert, but music classes were mandatory in high school. I could recognize the first graceful leaps of Chopin's iconic Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 anytime.
It was a rather difficult piece, a classical piece faithful in embodying melancholy. Longing. Nostalgia. It was a clear statement by Daniella to Lumi's remark.
I did not need to answer. Daniella did.
Can you hear it, dumpling? She can't read your mind like I can, but she is saying yes. She has gone through the same thing.
It makes... my chest heavy, Dad.
That's called emotional resonance. She's speaking to you with her music. Beautiful, isn't it? Your sister Ella is very good. Listen with care, dumpling. It will not only make you feel better and acknowledged. It will elevate your singing.
I stood behind Daniella with Lumi in my arms after some careful steps forwards. This was a performance one did not dare disturb.
We watched with awe as the melody progressed with increasing ornamentation and expression. The elaborative decorative tones were heaven to our ears. Daniella's showmanship was heaven to our eyes. We followed her hands that drew hills in the air. Her shoulders that swayed against the poignant, mellow landscape.
When the waltz-like harmony finished, we were still in enraptured in the music. But Daniella turned around with a bright red flush on her face, giving a few light coughs.
"You're not supposed to be so close to the performer..." she mumbled, her voice a little weak.
I could not distinguish between Daniella's two sides and if she was the same person. Her energetic, snack-motivated cashier side. Then, her graceful but modest pianist self. The stark contrast was so striking even Lumi found it a bit funny.
She raised her head at me, and we made it eye contact. We did not need telepathy to know what the other was thinking.
Lumi blinked her irresistible puppy dog eyes first. I knew Daniella already could not refuse. "Sister Ella, that was great! You are a caramel fudge chocolate bar with almonds and peanut butter! I felt a lot from that performance! I want to hear you sing next! Pretty please~?"
"Yes, Daniella. That was a performance beyond plain great. I'm a layman, but that was a performance worthy of the Royal Institute. The melody, the rhythm, the expression, wow."
"Yes, sister Ella! You play the piano so good, you must be as good at singing, or even better!"
"Lumi wants to be a singer, too. You're a big inspiration for her," I added.
The shower of praises and expectations we delivered overwhelmed Daniella. She stood from the bench as stiff as a flat, dissonant chord on a piano.
"T-thanks. Um, y-yeah. Sure," she mumbled, her head bowed low. "W-what would you like me to sing?"
I was immediate in putting forward my song request. "My Soul Will Go On."
Hearing the song, Lumi turned her gaze at me with a little bit of wonder, but I ignored her. I wanted to know if Daniella was up for it.
She did not refuse. "B-but could the two of stand a little farther back?"
Lumi and I giggled at her stuttering with each other before making some space for her.
Under our firm gazes, the shy version of Daniella shuffled a few times, and then she cleared her throat.
"Every night in my dreams~
I see you, I feel you~
That is how we are star-crossed~"
The first few lines of the song already amazed me. I thought she was reminiscent of Lumi with how her demeanor changed during singing. But I was wrong. Daniella was much better.
Something in her voice, something about her tone was richer, clearer, and more refined. I could not describe it. It contained something that Lumi lacked, and I could not pinpoint what it was.
"Far across spacetime~
The cosmos that dance away~
I will wait like stardust~" Daniella continued.
Lumi realized it too. Her eyes were as wide as an owl's.
But Daniella was not the one supposed to impress us. We were, the other way around. As she inhaled a deep breath, preparing for the song's chorus, I urged Lumi in my mind.
Go, dumpling! This is your time! Join in and surprise your sister Ella!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
cushionedgrass
cushionedgrass Damn, songwriting is harder than I thought. I got lazy here, so I re-used the previous song. Hehe~
As suggested by AbyssKun00, the songs will be a mix of both originals and parodies~ But my previous words still stand. Let me know if there's any song you'd like to see! You can help write this work!
Powerstones/gifts/comments are greatly appreciated, they keep me going! :)
Thanks for reading you handsome and beautiful dumplings.
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