---
The final notes faded.
Silence descended-- not empty, but full. Reverent. The audience seemed to exhale as one, released from Harrison's spell.
Amy turned to Delilah, her expression anxious. "What happened? You almost scared me to death. What just happened?"
Delilah blinked. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, tears clinging to her lashes like morning dew on petals. She smiled-- reassuring, but shaky.
"I'm fine now," she said. Her voice was steadier than she expected. "I'm good."
Her curved lips quivered. She probably looked pitiful.
Amy wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Should we go to the clinic?"
Delilah shook her head. "Really, I'm fine."
She glanced toward the stage. The teachers were still lost in the afterglow of the melody, dabbing at their eyes, murmuring among themselves. No one had noticed her distress.
"What was that about?" Amy asked again, quieter this time.
Delilah's smile faltered. A subtle hint of confusion flickered across her face. She couldn't explain it. Couldn't put the strange event into words.
Something about that song. Something that lay just beyond the reaches of her conscious mind.
"I don't know," she admitted.
As she spoke, a shiver ran down her spine. A faint whisper of unease that hinted at secrets yet to be revealed. And beneath that, a deeper fear-- the fear that the pain might return.
What was that song? And why does it feel like I've heard it before?
On stage, Harrison rose from the piano bench. He didn't bow. Didn't acknowledge the applause that finally broke out-- hesitant, then thunderous. He simply turned and walked away, his long legs eating up the distance.
A girl near the front swooned. Her friend caught her.
"He's not just handsome," she whispered, "he's a dark angel sent to steal our hearts."
"Ara-ara," another breathed. "Where did this evilly beautiful creature come from?"
Amy's attention snapped back to Harrison. Her eyes transformed into pounding cartoon hearts. "Isn't he too handsome?" she murmured subconsciously.
Delilah glanced at her friend. You just watched me nearly collapse, and now you're back to drooling over him?
She shook her head, suppressing a weak smile.
If she had to choose, she'd pick Fredrick. Kind Fredrick. Warm Fredrick. Fredrick who didn't make her feel like he could see through her soul with a single glance.
But the music still echoed in her ears. And the questions still churned in her mind.
What was that mysterious song?
Where have I heard it before?
And why does it feel like the answer is something I'm afraid to find?
The ceremony continued around her. Announcements were made. Students clapped. But Delilah remained still, her thoughts tangled in the melody that had unlocked something inside her.
Something that had been waiting.
Something that would not be ignored.