Chapter 191: 191
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5 PM – Page Road
//"They say time can take the wounds away
Yeah, they say time will change anything
But time forgot I broke my heart
Yeah, time forgot to heal my heart…"//
Walter smirks proudly, sitting idly under his gazebo, watching something on his laptop, with a lit cigar on his hand, taking a break from practicing his guitar. He has already lost count replaying not only 'Time Changes Everything', but also all the most recent videos of Tayaw in 'Red Abbey Sessions'. Aside from enjoying the music, Walter is also enjoying the view count rise.
Tayaw's videos, all 10 of them, are averaging 100,000 views each; an impressive count after only 18 hours.
"Walter!..." Donald, Walter's former assistant, his best friend's child, and now a top executive of 'Red Abbey Lager', joins Walter under the gazebo.
"Donald! What do I owe you this visit?" Walter says, pleasantly surprised by the man who he has not seen in a while.
"Isaac. He was here?" Donald looks around.
"Good lord. And here I thought you're visiting an old, lonely man." Walter jests.
"Oh. Sorry. Come on, it's not like your grandchildren don't visit you." Donald scoffs.
"How'd you know Isaac was here?" Walter asks.
"A friend sent me a text. He saw him with you. Him playing in Blackbird last light is the talk in the office too." Donald explains.
"I see. Why are you looking for him though?" Walter asks.
"I'm looking to invest in his film. I know that it's done, and it's nominated for awards, but he might need more money to market his film." Donald says.
"Heh. Too late…" Walter can only smirk while he starts telling Donald of the events of Tayaw's visit…
"Damn. A shame. If you're contributing to the promotion, then I can't offer him anything." Donald can only sigh in disappointment.
"Let's go inside. Isaac's opening at The Opera." Walter says, brushing aside Donald's disappointment as he snuffs out his cigar.
"Really? … Oh! the laptop…" Donald follows.
"Forget it. Ingrid will put it away later. I on the other hand, don't want to miss a single minute." Walter says, in anticipation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
6pm – Jericho, Long Island – Tayaw's Mansion
Chala is currently in the kitchen, fixing up loads and loads of snacks, and some drinks with Lee helping him.
*ding* *dong* "Lee. Let them in, please." Chala orders.
As Lee passes him by, Chala can only shake his head. Lee has grown up since Chala last saw him, and is now almost as tall as Chala at 5'8''.
"Chala! Hey! Nice to see you back!" Peter greets as he enters the house with Charlotte tailing him.
"Good to see you too, Peter. I'm only back less than a day, so I can only offer some beer. Maybe some pizza and chicken delivery later." Chala says as he carries an 8 pack to the living room with one hand, and a plastic bag full of healthy Teungebian vegetable-based junk food.
"Don't worry about it. Just you?" Peter asks for the obvious absentee.
"Yeah. Tayaw's busy. Where's Lexi and Holly?" Chala asks as they all sit down.
"They're busy with school." Peter replies.
"Lexi especially is so busy these days. She got accepted in Cornell, by the way." Charlotte says proudly.
"Cornell? Nice!" Chala is impressed.
"Well, I always knew she was smart. But… can't she go to better universities? I went to a better school, I thought she's a better student than I was." Chala asks.
Peter can only roll his eyes. To him, Cornell is already a great school.
"Oh… She doesn't want to be far from home." Charlotte says.
"Hmm. If there's a kid who wants to get away from family, I thought she would be it." Chala says absentmindedly.
"…" Charlotte can only glare at Chala.
"Honey. It's obviously a joke." Peter appeases his wife while giving Chala a weird look.
"She didn't apply to Columbia? Or Princeton?" Chala asks, now wanting to get a rise out of the easily riled Charlotte.
"…" Charlotte only answers with silence, making Chala understand that Lexi might not have made the cut in the two of the top 10 American universities.
"Well, where did you go? Chala?" Charlotte asks, as an obvious retaliation.
"Gnnawan University in Ouigab. One of Teungeb's best." Chala says proudly.
Charlotte can only swallow her small loss, having heard of Gnnawan's and other Teungebian Universities' reputation of stealing Indian and Chinese students from USA's Ivy League schools.
"Did Tayaw go there?" Charlotte asks again, despite knowing the answer, wanting to drag someone else with her loss in the banter.
"No. Still, he went to a good university on the level of Rochester. But, hey. He really didn't care about his studies to the point that he quit." Chala knows what Charlotte is doing.
"Jesus Christ. Stop it, you two." Peter can only intervene.
"Hehe. I'm just playin. Charlotte, you don't look like the beer type. If there's any drink you want, Lee can grab it for you in Tayaw's liquor cabinet." Chala offers as he turns on the TV.
"I'm fine with beer." Charlotte says, not wanting to give Chala a chance to compensate for his teasing.
[[[Good even'n y'all. Welcome to tonight's Opera…]]] Peter and Charlotte are distracted by the sound coming from the TV.
"Why the hell are you watching this… what even is this channel?" Peter asks as he points at the TV screen showing a stage with a host, wearing a rancher's clothing, talking to the camera.
"Some rural channel?" Charlotte asks.
"Nah. The Grand Country Opera. Heard of it?" Chala asks.
"Oh! So this is what it looks like!" Charlotte says, familiar of the event.
"They broadcast on TV? I only heard this on the radio." Pete says.
"They broadcast on TV and radio. I didn't even know how big it actually is in some parts of the country." Chala explains.
[[["Tonight, our first performer is a young man who has become the talk of the town last year. Now, he is to play for us, to remind us that he's still got it. Isaac Yawat, everyone!" *APPLAUSE* *CHEER* ]]]
"Isaac?" "Tayaw's playing?" Charlotte and Peter are surprised to hear the name.
"Yeah. Tayaw texted me earlier." Lee says.
"Do the neighbors know? We should watch it together." Peter says.
*ding* *dong* Just in time, the door bell rings, telling everyone that another neighbor has arrived.
"Lily! Hello! Sit here with me!" Charlotte welcomes the neighbor, and is glad that she is finally not the only woman in the room and that Lily will have her back if ever Chala decides to quip again.
"Where's George?" Peter asks.
"Oh. He's busy at the restaurant. It's Sunday night." Lily explains.
"Alright. Looks like you just made it in time." Chala points at the TV.
[[[After the host leaves the stage, the lights in the auditorium all fades off, not shutting off as to not surprise the audience. Five or so seconds later, *SSSGG* the spotlight turns on, and under it, is Tayaw, only with an acoustic guitar on him, a pedal by his left foot, and a microphone on a stand in front of him.
He is wearing a bright, cream-colored three-piece suit but because everything around him is dark, and the spotlight's color is in a shade of blue, Tayaw appears very lonely on stage.
*APPLAUSE*
Despite the applause, Tayaw seemingly is not acknowledging the audience and keeps his face angled low, towards the floor. His eyes, covered with his huge sunglasses also makes it hard for the audience to see the expression on Tayaw's face.]]]
"What's up with him?" Lee asks, unused to Tayaw not playing to the audience.
Lily, Charlotte and Peter meanwhile, are waiting in anticipation at the mood Tayaw is expressing.
"…" Chala on the other hand, is trying to hold in his laughter. He cannot take Tayaw acting all serious seriously.
[[[ *boomf* *boomf* *boomf* *boomf*
Tayaw stars tapping his toe for the stompbox, producing a percussive sound that is neither high nor low in pitch. The weak reverb effect on the stomp box somehow is making the simple beat cover the silence well. .
*Strum*
Tayaw starts strumming a simple chord progression. The guitar too is in weak reverb and it sounds fuller than a lone acoustic guitar should be. After two measures of only instruments, Tayaw finally leans in to the microphone for the first verse.
"Alone again, on a Sunday in the city
Tryin' to keep myself from uttering your name
Hurt in my heart, I keep inside
For she ain't got no time for me."
(Based on 'I Won't Let It' by Daniel Romano. Only, imagine Tayaw's husky and raspy baritone singing it, with a darker tone.)
Tayaw's choice of a simple baritone singing, helped by reverb, sounds very stirring, grounded, and atmospheric. Him also looking like he is just playing to himself in his own space, demands the attention of the audience towards the lonely young man.]]]
"Goodness." Charlotte's holds her breath.
"Yeah." Peter too is entranced.
"…" Lily starts swaying with the rhythm, immersing herself in the song, watching Tayaw in a daze.
"…" Chala now, is taking Tayaw seriously.
The visual, the atmosphere, the music, to Chala, is all blending perfectly. Chala's mind is also thinking as the song is going. He has always thought that Tayaw is having fun just being busy and getting rich. Now, he is not so sure, from the sentiment that Tayaw is expressing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Hamptons, New York
[[[… Ain't got no friend to help me from going crazy
Ain't got a phone to call and hear her voice
Yes, I get by, forcing things inside
I've got to try, so my babe does the same.]]]
Tayaw's voice reverberates in the huge living room of Sylvio mansion. Aside from Sylvio and his wife enjoying the show, Juliana and her parents who came to visit the Coniglio couple, are also enjoying Tayaw's performance with them.
"…" The family can only watch in daze at Tayaw's mesmerizing musical interpretation of longing.
"…" Sylvio, Delfina, and Luis, unlike their opinion of Tayaw as a filmmaker, only thought of Tayaw as some kind of musician who is only one of many, to be easily buried in obscurit. Now, basing on what they are seeing, now see that Tayaw might just be as exceptional a singer as he is an exceptional filmmaker.
"…"
Juliana meanwhile, has a mixture of emotions brewing in her gut. Compared to all the times she has been with Tayaw, the Tayaw now is like a different person. The confident Tayaw who took her out to dinner twice, is nowhere to be seen. The charismatic Tayaw who she saw on any other stage was like another person. The commanding Tayaw she saw lead in making a film is like a lie. The Tayaw she is looking at now through the TV, seems to be the realest Tayaw she has ever seen.
The impressive traits of Tayaw, to Juliana, always made her hold some reservations for him. Tayaw has always been perfect, too good to be true that she can hardly relate to. Now, she feels as though Tayaw has become a person she is now more comfortable to be friends with.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brentwood, Nashville
[[[ "This world has a way, of keeping us away
No I won't let them, baby.
Oh baby, I won't let them.
No I won't let them take you away from me…]]]
The folks of the Strawberry Front are sitting in their shared living room, with beers on their hands, taking the Sunday off to just relax. Watching a young man they owe their rise to fame also step to country music's biggest stage, they cannot help but feel immense pride.
"God damn… Is it just me or he is even better now than last year?" Rez comments.
"I can't point it out. But yeah…" Bobby agrees.
"The drum is painfully simple, but why does it sound perfect?" John says.
"It just can't be the reverb." Aaron remarks.
"Alright. John. Get ready blocking numbers again." Bobby jokes.
"Thank God we have an agent for that now." John sighs.
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
Ryman Auditorium
[[[ "Yeah... This world has a way, of keeping us away
No I won't let them, baby.
Oh baby, I won't let them.
No I won't let them take you away from me…
From me~… From me."
Ffter a few more strums, guitar licks, and beats, Tayaw finally finishes the song.
*APPLAUSE*]]]
Tayaw has successfully performed the song he wrote specifically for a big stage like the Ryman Auditorium. To other people, "I Won't Let Them" sounds like a sad romantic song, but to Tayaw, it is a song that he dedicates to his friends from the previous life.
"Thank y'all." Tayaw says, and with that the spotlight focused on him switches from the sad blue into the neutral yellowish white.
*WHOO* *WHISTLES* *APPLAUSE* The crowd stands up to give Tayaw a well-deserved ovation.
"Thank you. Thank you." Tayaw nods, bows, and thanks the audience, addressing them now, instead of his aloof attitude before. Tayaw keeps nodding at the random members of the audience as he stands with his back straight, basking in the clamor. His tense body earlier is now much more relaxed, massaged by the applause and cheers from the crowd.
Tayaw, with his enhanced brain, tries his best to capture and embed this scene in his memory. The Grand Country Opera, a show he never in his previous life even dreamed of playing at, has welcomed him warmly.
'Friends. I've done it. I wish you all are here with me.' Tayaw says as he imagines his band mates in his previous life, standing with him on the stage.
After the audience calmed down, Tayaw is now ready to perform the rest of his set. The spotlight changes color into that with an orange hue; a warmer color. Tayaw's three more songs are not as sad as 'I Won't Let Them', but the most heartwarming songs he has among all the English songs he has released, not just country.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
5 PM – Page Road
//"They say time can take the wounds away
Yeah, they say time will change anything
But time forgot I broke my heart
Yeah, time forgot to heal my heart…"//
Walter smirks proudly, sitting idly under his gazebo, watching something on his laptop, with a lit cigar on his hand, taking a break from practicing his guitar. He has already lost count replaying not only 'Time Changes Everything', but also all the most recent videos of Tayaw in 'Red Abbey Sessions'. Aside from enjoying the music, Walter is also enjoying the view count rise.
Tayaw's videos, all 10 of them, are averaging 100,000 views each; an impressive count after only 18 hours.
"Walter!..." Donald, Walter's former assistant, his best friend's child, and now a top executive of 'Red Abbey Lager', joins Walter under the gazebo.
"Donald! What do I owe you this visit?" Walter says, pleasantly surprised by the man who he has not seen in a while.
"Isaac. He was here?" Donald looks around.
"Good lord. And here I thought you're visiting an old, lonely man." Walter jests.
"Oh. Sorry. Come on, it's not like your grandchildren don't visit you." Donald scoffs.
"How'd you know Isaac was here?" Walter asks.
"A friend sent me a text. He saw him with you. Him playing in Blackbird last light is the talk in the office too." Donald explains.
"I see. Why are you looking for him though?" Walter asks.
"I'm looking to invest in his film. I know that it's done, and it's nominated for awards, but he might need more money to market his film." Donald says.
"Heh. Too late…" Walter can only smirk while he starts telling Donald of the events of Tayaw's visit…
"Damn. A shame. If you're contributing to the promotion, then I can't offer him anything." Donald can only sigh in disappointment.
"Let's go inside. Isaac's opening at The Opera." Walter says, brushing aside Donald's disappointment as he snuffs out his cigar.
"Really? … Oh! the laptop…" Donald follows.
"Forget it. Ingrid will put it away later. I on the other hand, don't want to miss a single minute." Walter says, in anticipation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
6pm – Jericho, Long Island – Tayaw's Mansion
Chala is currently in the kitchen, fixing up loads and loads of snacks, and some drinks with Lee helping him.
*ding* *dong* "Lee. Let them in, please." Chala orders.
As Lee passes him by, Chala can only shake his head. Lee has grown up since Chala last saw him, and is now almost as tall as Chala at 5'8''.
"Chala! Hey! Nice to see you back!" Peter greets as he enters the house with Charlotte tailing him.
"Good to see you too, Peter. I'm only back less than a day, so I can only offer some beer. Maybe some pizza and chicken delivery later." Chala says as he carries an 8 pack to the living room with one hand, and a plastic bag full of healthy Teungebian vegetable-based junk food.
"Don't worry about it. Just you?" Peter asks for the obvious absentee.
"Yeah. Tayaw's busy. Where's Lexi and Holly?" Chala asks as they all sit down.
"They're busy with school." Peter replies.
"Lexi especially is so busy these days. She got accepted in Cornell, by the way." Charlotte says proudly.
"Cornell? Nice!" Chala is impressed.
"Well, I always knew she was smart. But… can't she go to better universities? I went to a better school, I thought she's a better student than I was." Chala asks.
Peter can only roll his eyes. To him, Cornell is already a great school.
"Oh… She doesn't want to be far from home." Charlotte says.
"Hmm. If there's a kid who wants to get away from family, I thought she would be it." Chala says absentmindedly.
"…" Charlotte can only glare at Chala.
"Honey. It's obviously a joke." Peter appeases his wife while giving Chala a weird look.
"She didn't apply to Columbia? Or Princeton?" Chala asks, now wanting to get a rise out of the easily riled Charlotte.
"…" Charlotte only answers with silence, making Chala understand that Lexi might not have made the cut in the two of the top 10 American universities.
"Well, where did you go? Chala?" Charlotte asks, as an obvious retaliation.
"Gnnawan University in Ouigab. One of Teungeb's best." Chala says proudly.
Charlotte can only swallow her small loss, having heard of Gnnawan's and other Teungebian Universities' reputation of stealing Indian and Chinese students from USA's Ivy League schools.
"Did Tayaw go there?" Charlotte asks again, despite knowing the answer, wanting to drag someone else with her loss in the banter.
"No. Still, he went to a good university on the level of Rochester. But, hey. He really didn't care about his studies to the point that he quit." Chala knows what Charlotte is doing.
"Jesus Christ. Stop it, you two." Peter can only intervene.
"Hehe. I'm just playin. Charlotte, you don't look like the beer type. If there's any drink you want, Lee can grab it for you in Tayaw's liquor cabinet." Chala offers as he turns on the TV.
"I'm fine with beer." Charlotte says, not wanting to give Chala a chance to compensate for his teasing.
[[[Good even'n y'all. Welcome to tonight's Opera…]]] Peter and Charlotte are distracted by the sound coming from the TV.
"Why the hell are you watching this… what even is this channel?" Peter asks as he points at the TV screen showing a stage with a host, wearing a rancher's clothing, talking to the camera.
"Some rural channel?" Charlotte asks.
"Nah. The Grand Country Opera. Heard of it?" Chala asks.
"Oh! So this is what it looks like!" Charlotte says, familiar of the event.
"They broadcast on TV? I only heard this on the radio." Pete says.
"They broadcast on TV and radio. I didn't even know how big it actually is in some parts of the country." Chala explains.
[[["Tonight, our first performer is a young man who has become the talk of the town last year. Now, he is to play for us, to remind us that he's still got it. Isaac Yawat, everyone!" *APPLAUSE* *CHEER* ]]]
"Isaac?" "Tayaw's playing?" Charlotte and Peter are surprised to hear the name.
"Yeah. Tayaw texted me earlier." Lee says.
"Do the neighbors know? We should watch it together." Peter says.
*ding* *dong* Just in time, the door bell rings, telling everyone that another neighbor has arrived.
"Lily! Hello! Sit here with me!" Charlotte welcomes the neighbor, and is glad that she is finally not the only woman in the room and that Lily will have her back if ever Chala decides to quip again.
"Where's George?" Peter asks.
"Oh. He's busy at the restaurant. It's Sunday night." Lily explains.
"Alright. Looks like you just made it in time." Chala points at the TV.
[[[After the host leaves the stage, the lights in the auditorium all fades off, not shutting off as to not surprise the audience. Five or so seconds later, *SSSGG* the spotlight turns on, and under it, is Tayaw, only with an acoustic guitar on him, a pedal by his left foot, and a microphone on a stand in front of him.
He is wearing a bright, cream-colored three-piece suit but because everything around him is dark, and the spotlight's color is in a shade of blue, Tayaw appears very lonely on stage.
*APPLAUSE*
Despite the applause, Tayaw seemingly is not acknowledging the audience and keeps his face angled low, towards the floor. His eyes, covered with his huge sunglasses also makes it hard for the audience to see the expression on Tayaw's face.]]]
"What's up with him?" Lee asks, unused to Tayaw not playing to the audience.
Lily, Charlotte and Peter meanwhile, are waiting in anticipation at the mood Tayaw is expressing.
"…" Chala on the other hand, is trying to hold in his laughter. He cannot take Tayaw acting all serious seriously.
[[[ *boomf* *boomf* *boomf* *boomf*
Tayaw stars tapping his toe for the stompbox, producing a percussive sound that is neither high nor low in pitch. The weak reverb effect on the stomp box somehow is making the simple beat cover the silence well. .
*Strum*
Tayaw starts strumming a simple chord progression. The guitar too is in weak reverb and it sounds fuller than a lone acoustic guitar should be. After two measures of only instruments, Tayaw finally leans in to the microphone for the first verse.
"Alone again, on a Sunday in the city
Tryin' to keep myself from uttering your name
Hurt in my heart, I keep inside
For she ain't got no time for me."
(Based on 'I Won't Let It' by Daniel Romano. Only, imagine Tayaw's husky and raspy baritone singing it, with a darker tone.)
Tayaw's choice of a simple baritone singing, helped by reverb, sounds very stirring, grounded, and atmospheric. Him also looking like he is just playing to himself in his own space, demands the attention of the audience towards the lonely young man.]]]
"Goodness." Charlotte's holds her breath.
"Yeah." Peter too is entranced.
"…" Lily starts swaying with the rhythm, immersing herself in the song, watching Tayaw in a daze.
"…" Chala now, is taking Tayaw seriously.
The visual, the atmosphere, the music, to Chala, is all blending perfectly. Chala's mind is also thinking as the song is going. He has always thought that Tayaw is having fun just being busy and getting rich. Now, he is not so sure, from the sentiment that Tayaw is expressing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Hamptons, New York
[[[… Ain't got no friend to help me from going crazy
Ain't got a phone to call and hear her voice
Yes, I get by, forcing things inside
I've got to try, so my babe does the same.]]]
Tayaw's voice reverberates in the huge living room of Sylvio mansion. Aside from Sylvio and his wife enjoying the show, Juliana and her parents who came to visit the Coniglio couple, are also enjoying Tayaw's performance with them.
"…" The family can only watch in daze at Tayaw's mesmerizing musical interpretation of longing.
"…" Sylvio, Delfina, and Luis, unlike their opinion of Tayaw as a filmmaker, only thought of Tayaw as some kind of musician who is only one of many, to be easily buried in obscurit. Now, basing on what they are seeing, now see that Tayaw might just be as exceptional a singer as he is an exceptional filmmaker.
"…"
Juliana meanwhile, has a mixture of emotions brewing in her gut. Compared to all the times she has been with Tayaw, the Tayaw now is like a different person. The confident Tayaw who took her out to dinner twice, is nowhere to be seen. The charismatic Tayaw who she saw on any other stage was like another person. The commanding Tayaw she saw lead in making a film is like a lie. The Tayaw she is looking at now through the TV, seems to be the realest Tayaw she has ever seen.
The impressive traits of Tayaw, to Juliana, always made her hold some reservations for him. Tayaw has always been perfect, too good to be true that she can hardly relate to. Now, she feels as though Tayaw has become a person she is now more comfortable to be friends with.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brentwood, Nashville
[[[ "This world has a way, of keeping us away
No I won't let them, baby.
Oh baby, I won't let them.
No I won't let them take you away from me…]]]
The folks of the Strawberry Front are sitting in their shared living room, with beers on their hands, taking the Sunday off to just relax. Watching a young man they owe their rise to fame also step to country music's biggest stage, they cannot help but feel immense pride.
"God damn… Is it just me or he is even better now than last year?" Rez comments.
"I can't point it out. But yeah…" Bobby agrees.
"The drum is painfully simple, but why does it sound perfect?" John says.
"It just can't be the reverb." Aaron remarks.
"Alright. John. Get ready blocking numbers again." Bobby jokes.
"Thank God we have an agent for that now." John sighs.
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
Ryman Auditorium
[[[ "Yeah... This world has a way, of keeping us away
No I won't let them, baby.
Oh baby, I won't let them.
No I won't let them take you away from me…
From me~… From me."
Ffter a few more strums, guitar licks, and beats, Tayaw finally finishes the song.
*APPLAUSE*]]]
Tayaw has successfully performed the song he wrote specifically for a big stage like the Ryman Auditorium. To other people, "I Won't Let Them" sounds like a sad romantic song, but to Tayaw, it is a song that he dedicates to his friends from the previous life.
"Thank y'all." Tayaw says, and with that the spotlight focused on him switches from the sad blue into the neutral yellowish white.
*WHOO* *WHISTLES* *APPLAUSE* The crowd stands up to give Tayaw a well-deserved ovation.
"Thank you. Thank you." Tayaw nods, bows, and thanks the audience, addressing them now, instead of his aloof attitude before. Tayaw keeps nodding at the random members of the audience as he stands with his back straight, basking in the clamor. His tense body earlier is now much more relaxed, massaged by the applause and cheers from the crowd.
Tayaw, with his enhanced brain, tries his best to capture and embed this scene in his memory. The Grand Country Opera, a show he never in his previous life even dreamed of playing at, has welcomed him warmly.
'Friends. I've done it. I wish you all are here with me.' Tayaw says as he imagines his band mates in his previous life, standing with him on the stage.
After the audience calmed down, Tayaw is now ready to perform the rest of his set. The spotlight changes color into that with an orange hue; a warmer color. Tayaw's three more songs are not as sad as 'I Won't Let Them', but the most heartwarming songs he has among all the English songs he has released, not just country.
5 PM Page Road //"They say time can take the wounds away Yeah, they say time will change anything But time forgot I broke my heart Yeah, time forgot to heal my heart"// Walter smirks proudly, sitting idly under his gazebo, watching something on his laptop, with a lit cigar on his hand, taking a break from practicing his guitar. He has already lost count replaying not only 'Time Changes Everything', but also all the most recent videos of Tayaw in 'Red Abbey Sessions'. Aside from enjoying the music, Walter is also enjoying the view count rise. Tayaw's videos, all 10 of them, are averaging 100,000 views each; an impressive count after only 18 hours. "Walter!..." Donald, Walter's former assistant, his best friend's child, and now a top executive of 'Red Abbey Lager', joins Walter under the gazebo. "Donald! What do I owe you this visit?" Walter says, pleasantly surprised by the man who he has not seen in a while. "Isaac. He was here?" Donald looks around. "Good lord. And here I thought you're visiting an old, lonely man." Walter jests. "Oh. Sorry. Come on, it's not like your grandchildren don't visit you." Donald scoffs. "How'd you know Isaac was here?" Walter asks. "A friend sent me a text. He saw him with you. Him playing in Blackbird last light is the talk in the office too." Donald explains. "I see. Why are you looking for him though?" Walter asks. "I'm looking to invest in his film. I know that it's done, and it's nominated for awards, but he might need more money to market his film." Donald says. "Heh. Too late" Walter can only smirk while he starts telling Donald of the events of Tayaw's visit "Damn. A shame. If you're contributing to the promotion, then I can't offer him anything." Donald can only sigh in disappointment. "Let's go inside. Isaac's opening at The Opera." Walter says, brushing aside Donald's disappointment as he snuffs out his cigar. "Really? Oh! the laptop" Donald follows. "Forget it. Ingrid will put it away later. I on the other hand, don't want to miss a single minute." Walter says, in anticipation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6pm Jericho, Long Island Tayaw's Mansion Chala is currently in the kitchen, fixing up loads and loads of snacks, and some drinks with Lee helping him. *ding* *dong* "Lee. Let them in, please." Chala orders. As Lee passes him by, Chala can only shake his head. Lee has grown up since Chala last saw him, and is now almost as tall as Chala at 5'8''. "Chala! Hey! Nice to see you back!" Peter greets as he enters the house with Charlotte tailing him. "Good to see you too, Peter. I'm only back less than a day, so I can only offer some beer. Maybe some pizza and chicken delivery later." Chala says as he carries an 8 pack to the living room with one hand, and a plastic bag full of healthy Teungebian vegetable-based junk food. "Don't worry about it. Just you?" Peter asks for the obvious absentee. "Yeah. Tayaw's busy. Where's Lexi and Holly?" Chala asks as they all sit down. "They're busy with school." Peter replies. "Lexi especially is so busy these days. She got accepted in Cornell, by the way." Charlotte says proudly. "Cornell? Nice!" Chala is impressed. "Well, I always knew she was smart. But can't she go to better universities? I went to a better school, I thought she's a better student than I was." Chala asks. Peter can only roll his eyes. To him, Cornell is already a great school. "Oh She doesn't want to be far from home." Charlotte says. "Hmm. If there's a kid who wants to get away from family, I thought she would be it." Chala says absentmindedly. "" Charlotte can only glare at Chala. "Honey. It's obviously a joke." Peter appeases his wife while giving Chala a weird look. "She didn't apply to Columbia? Or Princeton?" Chala asks, now wanting to get a rise out of the easily riled Charlotte. "" Charlotte only answers with silence, making Chala understand that Lexi might not have made the cut in the two of the top 10 American universities. "Well, where did you go? Chala?" Charlotte asks, as an obvious retaliation. "Gnnawan University in Ouigab. One of Teungeb's best." Chala says proudly. Charlotte can only swallow her small loss, having heard of Gnnawan's and other Teungebian Universities' reputation of stealing Indian and Chinese students from USA's Ivy League schools. "Did Tayaw go there?" Charlotte asks again, despite knowing the answer, wanting to drag someone else with her loss in the banter. "No. Still, he went to a good university on the level of Rochester. But, hey. He really didn't care about his studies to the point that he quit." Chala knows what Charlotte is doing. "Jesus Christ. Stop it, you two." Peter can only intervene. "Hehe. I'm just playin. Charlotte, you don't look like the beer type. If there's any drink you want, Lee can grab it for you in Tayaw's liquor cabinet." Chala offers as he turns on the TV. "I'm fine with beer." Charlotte says, not wanting to give Chala a chance to compensate for his teasing. Good even'n y'all. Welcome to tonight's Opera Peter and Charlotte are distracted by the sound coming from the TV. "Why the hell are you watching this what even is this channel?" Peter asks as he points at the TV screen showing a stage with a host, wearing a rancher's clothing, talking to the camera. "Some rural channel?" Charlotte asks. "Nah. The Grand Country Opera. Heard of it?" Chala asks. "Oh! So this is what it looks like!" Charlotte says, familiar of the event. "They broadcast on TV? I only heard this on the radio." Pete says. "They broadcast on TV and radio. I didn't even know how big it actually is in some parts of the country." Chala explains. "Tonight, our first performer is a young man who has become the talk of the town last year. Now, he is to play for us, to remind us that he's still got it. Isaac Yawat, everyone!" *APPLAUSE* *CHEER* "Isaac?" "Tayaw's playing?" Charlotte and Peter are surprised to hear the name. "Yeah. Tayaw texted me earlier." Lee says. "Do the neighbors know? We should watch it together." Peter says. *ding* *dong* Just in time, the door bell rings, telling everyone that another neighbor has arrived. "Lily! Hello! Sit here with me!" Charlotte welcomes the neighbor, and is glad that she is finally not the only woman in the room and that Lily will have her back if ever Chala decides to quip again. "Where's George?" Peter asks. "Oh. He's busy at the restaurant. It's Sunday night." Lily explains. "Alright. Looks like you just made it in time." Chala points at the TV. After the host leaves the stage, the lights in the auditorium all fades off, not shutting off as to not surprise the audience. Five or so seconds later, *SSSGG* the spotlight turns on, and under it, is Tayaw, only with an acoustic guitar on him, a pedal by his left foot, and a microphone on a stand in front of him. He is wearing a bright, cream-colored three-piece suit but because everything around him is dark, and the spotlight's color is in a shade of blue, Tayaw appears very lonely on stage. *APPLAUSE* Despite the applause, Tayaw seemingly is not acknowledging the audience and keeps his face angled low, towards the floor. His eyes, covered with his huge sunglasses also makes it hard for the audience to see the expression on Tayaw's face. "What's up with him?" Lee asks, unused to Tayaw not playing to the audience. Lily, Charlotte and Peter meanwhile, are waiting in anticipation at the mood Tayaw is expressing. "" Chala on the other hand, is trying to hold in his laughter. He cannot take Tayaw acting all serious seriously. *boomf* *boomf* *boomf* *boomf* Tayaw stars tapping his toe for the stompbox, producing a percussive sound that is neither high nor low in pitch. The weak reverb effect on the stomp box somehow is making the simple beat cover the silence well. . *Strum* Tayaw starts strumming a simple chord progression. The guitar too is in weak reverb and it sounds fuller than a lone acoustic guitar should be. After two measures of only instruments, Tayaw finally leans in to the microphone for the first verse. "Alone again, on a Sunday in the city Tryin' to keep myself from uttering your name Hurt in my heart, I keep inside For she ain't got no time for me." Based on 'I Won't Let It' by Daniel Romano. Only, imagine Tayaw's husky and raspy baritone singing it, with a darker tone. Tayaw's choice of a simple baritone singing, helped by reverb, sounds very stirring, grounded, and atmospheric. Him also looking like he is just playing to himself in his own space, demands the attention of the audience towards the lonely young man. "Goodness." Charlotte's holds her breath. "Yeah." Peter too is entranced. "" Lily starts swaying with the rhythm, immersing herself in the song, watching Tayaw in a daze. "" Chala now, is taking Tayaw seriously. The visual, the atmosphere, the music, to Chala, is all blending perfectly. Chala's mind is also thinking as the song is going. He has always thought that Tayaw is having fun just being busy and getting rich. Now, he is not so sure, from the sentiment that Tayaw is expressing. ~~~~~~~~~ The Hamptons, New York Ain't got no friend to help me from going crazy Ain't got a phone to call and hear her voice Yes, I get by, forcing things inside I've got to try, so my babe does the same. Tayaw's voice reverberates in the huge living room of Sylvio mansion. Aside from Sylvio and his wife enjoying the show, Juliana and her parents who came to visit the Coniglio couple, are also enjoying Tayaw's performance with them. "" The family can only watch in daze at Tayaw's mesmerizing musical interpretation of longing. "" Sylvio, Delfina, and Luis, unlike their opinion of Tayaw as a filmmaker, only thought of Tayaw as some kind of musician who is only one of many, to be easily buried in obscurit. Now, basing on what they are seeing, now see that Tayaw might just be as exceptional a singer as he is an exceptional filmmaker. "" Juliana meanwhile, has a mixture of emotions brewing in her gut. Compared to all the times she has been with Tayaw, the Tayaw now is like a different person. The confident Tayaw who took her out to dinner twice, is nowhere to be seen. The charismatic Tayaw who she saw on any other stage was like another person. The commanding Tayaw she saw lead in making a film is like a lie. The Tayaw she is looking at now through the TV, seems to be the realest Tayaw she has ever seen. The impressive traits of Tayaw, to Juliana, always made her hold some reservations for him. Tayaw has always been perfect, too good to be true that she can hardly relate to. Now, she feels as though Tayaw has become a person she is now more comfortable to be friends with. ~~~~~~~~~~ Brentwood, Nashville "This world has a way, of keeping us away No I won't let them, baby. Oh baby, I won't let them. No I won't let them take you away from me The folks of the Strawberry Front are sitting in their shared living room, with beers on their hands, taking the Sunday off to just relax. Watching a young man they owe their rise to fame also step to country music's biggest stage, they cannot help but feel immense pride. "God damn Is it just me or he is even better now than last year?" Rez comments. "I can't point it out. But yeah" Bobby agrees. "The drum is painfully simple, but why does it sound perfect?" John says. "It just can't be the reverb." Aaron remarks. "Alright. John. Get ready blocking numbers again." Bobby jokes. "Thank God we have an agent for that now." John sighs. ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Ryman Auditorium "Yeah... This world has a way, of keeping us away No I won't let them, baby. Oh baby, I won't let them. No I won't let them take you away from me From me~ From me." Ffter a few more strums, guitar licks, and beats, Tayaw finally finishes the song. *APPLAUSE* Tayaw has successfully performed the song he wrote specifically for a big stage like the Ryman Auditorium. To other people, "I Won't Let Them" sounds like a sad romantic song, but to Tayaw, it is a song that he dedicates to his friends from the previous life. "Thank y'all." Tayaw says, and with that the spotlight focused on him switches from the sad blue into the neutral yellowish white. *WHOO* *WHISTLES* *APPLAUSE* The crowd stands up to give Tayaw a well-deserved ovation. "Thank you. Thank you." Tayaw nods, bows, and thanks the audience, addressing them now, instead of his aloof attitude before. Tayaw keeps nodding at the random members of the audience as he stands with his back straight, basking in the clamor. His tense body earlier is now much more relaxed, massaged by the applause and cheers from the crowd. Tayaw, with his enhanced brain, tries his best to capture and embed this scene in his memory. The Grand Country Opera, a show he never in his previous life even dreamed of playing at, has welcomed him warmly. 'Friends. I've done it. I wish you all are here with me.' Tayaw says as he imagines his band mates in his previous life, standing with him on the stage. After the audience calmed down, Tayaw is now ready to perform the rest of his set. The spotlight changes color into that with an orange hue; a warmer color. Tayaw's three more songs are not as sad as 'I Won't Let Them', but the most heartwarming songs he has among all the English songs he has released, not just country.
