The Song That Never Ends -- Part 1: A New Start -screen_writer-

The island was a lonely place for Sara. She and her husband, Peter, moved to the island in the spring of 1899 with high hopes of finding a new life. Peter, who was rarely sober, had big troubles with the law in the town they used to live in. His temper was fierce, so when a fellow remarked at how pretty his wife, Sara, was Peter didn’t take it as a compliment. He ended up killing the man with a broken bottle. He and Sara rushed out of town that same night. They moved from town to town on the run from the sheriff, eventually ending up on the island.

It was the perfect place for Peter, because the island was uninhabited. There was a time that it had been populated though; a few abandon cabins were scattered throughout the woods, and seaside. They could have their pick of whichever one they wanted. Not that Sara had a vote in the matter; Peter made all the decisions.

She was perfectly happy with the cabin he picked. It overlooked the ocean, and on clear days she could see the lighthouse that stood on the mainland. There were only three rooms in the house – the living room, bedroom, and kitchen – yet each room was spacious, and very comfortable. The kitchen contained a wood burning stove, pots, pans, tables, and chairs. The bedroom contained a bed, and the living room contained chairs, and tables.

As the days past, Sara and Peter explored the rest of the island, and the cabins on it. Each cabin contained all the amenities you would need to live. To Sara it was spooky – why would everyone leave without their belongings she thought. Peter didn’t care; he took guns, tools, firewood, and clothes from the other cabins, and brought them back to his new house.

One of the cabins contained a piano. A magnificent piano made out of mahogany. Sara had never touched piano keys in her life, yet she wanted Peter to transport it back to their new cabin. “I can’t move that thing!” He complained to her, when she asked him to move it. “Besides, you can’t play.” Sara left it at that.

She spent the next four months sewing, cooking, and farming. Each evening she would walk out on the coastline to let the breeze, coming of the ocean, tickle her face. Peter, becoming mellower from the lack of alcohol, joined her on the beach now and then. Their relationship had never been better. So when he saw the boredom tearing Sara a part he decided to do something about it. So Peter rigged up a flat piece of wood with round logs underneath it, and though it took the whole day, and part of the night he brought the piano to Sara. They placed it in the living room next to the fireplace. There was only one piece of sheet music with it; “Minuet” by J.S. Bach; a short piece yet beautiful piece of music.

Sara played, and played, night and day, day and night. And in two weeks she had the song perfect. It brought her such joy. She played the song until her fingers hurt, and then played a little more after that. Pretty soon she was letting the housework fall way behind. Dinners were late, cleaning ceased, and the crops dried up in the heat and died. This made Peter very angry, but without the whiskey in his system he didn’t take his anger out on Sara. He kept it in, and though the song, “Minuet”, was driving him mad he buttoned his lip and let his wife play. It brought her such pleasure.

To Be Continued...

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