Trying to understand

[Anastasie Vernier]

There was a slight chill to the air as Anastasie Vernier made her way out of her French home and towards the quiet neighbouring park. A large grey coat hung over her shoulders that was slightly oversized and a small wooden instrument case was clutched tightly in her right hand as she walked forward, looking straight down at the cobbled pathway beneath her feet. The park was always the safest place to go around where she lived and she felt quite good to endure the outdoors once again, away from the mess that she called her family. She needed her space away from them, even if they thought she was alright just sitting in the house. The drama and mayhem eventually always ended up being too much for the six year old so spending some time away from that was definitely going to make her happier. Additionally, fresh air was not always something that the six year old could easily get and so she took this moment as if it was a once in a lifetime chance as there was definitely no way that her mother was going to let her go out by herself again any time soon.

As Ana took a seat on the nearest bench, she sighed before revealing a stringed musical instrument from her wooden case. Despite only playing it for a year now, Ana's love for the violin was much unlike anything else. Love wasn't always something that the six year old could comprehend but when it came to her violin she didn't think twice before admitting it. The sound that came out of such an instrument was pleasing to her ear and the girl's opinion of it was different to that of her peers. The bodacious melodies produced from it were always what kept her smiling and she was very quick to pick it up. The girl positioned her violin on her left shoulder and gently placed the bow on the lowest string before moving the bow up and down and making sound. She took a sigh of relief as a low G note was played throughout the quiet park and began to continue playing a song, occasionally making mistakes in places and starting all over again. Ana quite enjoyed this sort of freedom and would not care if anyone came up to her and told her that she was too loud. It was about time people started to appreciate true music, even if it wasn't played too perfectly. The girl knew that she would get better though and it was only a little bit of dedicated practice that would get her where she wanted to be.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick sat on the edge of his newly-made bed, still trying to comprehend the surprising but also terrifying news that he was told not that long ago. As much as he tried not to show it, having one new sibling was bad enough let alone two that were on their way in the next couple of months. He sat with his head in his hands as his brain registered everything that was happening. It didn't seem that long ago that they moved in with his step-mother and now her and his father were going to have more children that were just going to change everything. The boy missed his mother, despite not really remembering much about her. Clarissa was never going to be considered his mother but Patrick would never tell her that to her face. If he did, he would probably get a lecture from her about how things are different now and that he shouldn't take her for granted. The boy tried not to take many things for granted but he couldn't just ignore how he was feeling and was eager to discuss the matter with somebody who would understand.

A noise just outside Patrick's bedroom door alerted him and he jumped up from his bed, moving closer to the door to hear what it was. It was a conversation between his step-mother and step-sister. Clarissa was letting Ana go outside and Patrick wanted to go outside too. Once he was sure that the two had walked away, Patrick quietly walked out of his room and followed Ana all the way to a park. He shivered as the wind blew in from the north and turned around to go grab himself a jacket before a mellow sound resonated throughout the park and he stopped, noticing that Ana's violin was with her. He wondered how she had learnt so much in only a year and stood there for a moment as she played, not really wanting to go and get his jacket anymore. Instead, he found himself moving closer towards her until he was right in front of her and sat down next to her on the bench without waiting to see if it was okay. "You're good," he told Ana, gesturing towards her violin. He wanted to talk to her now that they were alone and hoped that she was in a good enough mood to do so.

 

[Anastasie Vernier]

It took a while for it to dawn on Ana that footsteps were making their way over to her. She kept playing absent-mindlessly until a voice spoke up which caused her to jump, making an unpleasant sound come out of her violin. She placed it instantly on her lap, realising straight away who the intruder was. Why did Patrick follow her? Did he even get permission to leave? The only reason why he would do that was because he wanted attention, but Ana did not want to give it to him and instead just rolled her eyes when he complimented her on her playing. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't really played the violin for him before so he was most likely hearing her play for the first time. She appreciated the compliment but sighed again out of frustration this time. He disturbed her just before she was getting to a good part. But she knew better than to yell at him and tried to keep her voice calm. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, not meaning to sound as rude as it came out. "Did Aaron say you could come out? Or Clarissa?" She just shook her head at him, knowing the answer all too well. It was her step-brother's impulsiveness that always ended up getting him into trouble and she would definitely let her mother know that he had followed her simply because he should have known better. Ana always tried her best to be the bigger and better one despite her being the youngest and she didn't have to try too hard in the Vernier household.​