"I wasn't expecting this weather today," Julius muttered.

He was soaking wet, his clothes were rugged and mismatched. He looked as if he already had

one foot in the grave.

"I've told you a million times not to wait for me if I'm not here," the woman stressed while

she gave him a towel and a warm change of clothes.

"I had nothing else to do, and plus I like the rain. It distracts me," he shivered as he put on a

large button down, which fit him like a dress.

"I'm sorry that's the only guy thing I have in my closet, good thing you're small," the woman

He responded with silence.

"You can get Pneumonia you know, and who's going to take care of you then? By the way,

have you been taking your medication? Please don't tell me you flushed them down the toilet again."

"I hate them... Lorazepan and Thorazine they make my brain feel like silly putty," he stared

off into space as he handed her his wet clothes.

The woman sighed. "Have you told your doctor yet? Maybe we can try changing the dosage

or different dru-”

"There is no us! I'm the one living with this, I'm the one losing my mind, I've lost everything

because of this!" he blinked hard to stop himself from crying.

"Jul... I'm sorry... I have no interest in forcing to do things you don't want to do, I'm not

mom or dad. I just want to do what's best for you, we're a team remember?" she reassured him.

He nodded his head and fell into her embrace. "Why did this happen to me. I hate living like

this, they never shut up," he cried.

The woman hugged Julius tightly as if her body heat was the only thing keeping him alive.

She rubbed his hair softly and sang a song for him to calm him down.

"Why don't I go and make us some tea, while you flip through the channels and find

something good to watch," she offered.

"Okay but can you-"

"Honey and two sugar cubes, coming right up," she smiled and headed toward the kitchen.

He wiped off the remaining tears off his face and grabbed the remote. He turned on the TV

and came across a woman playing the violin at a concerto. He recognized the piece and rubbed his

thumbs over his calloused fingertips. As if he were the woman, he began to play a pretend violin.

Perfectly imitating her with every note, every movement of his bow.

“It’s been so long since you’ve actually played,” the woman handed him his cup.

A hue of bright red spread across his face, he thanked her for the tea and took a sip.

“Hey that reminds me! I found your old violin from high school, while I was cleaning the

other day. Do you want it back?” she asked.

“Umm… I don’t know I’m a bit rusty, I don’t think I’ll--”

“Nonsense! If you can play air violin, I’m sure you could play the real thing,” she said.

Before he could protest further she ran off. Julius fidgeted as he waited, he began to crack

his knuckles and after a couple minutes passed he began to hum. The woman excitedly, gave him the

instrument with a warm smile.

“I never imagined that I’d end up actually playing it again. He smiled. It feels like there is a

weight being lifted off my chest." he expressed.

"Let's see how she sings," the woman encouraged with a hearty smile.

Julius began to perform as if nothing else existed. The way he played each note seemed to

bring them to life. The tempo coincided with the beat of his heart. His troubles seemed to melt away

with each bounce of his bow, his legatos whispered sweet nothings.

"It's so beautiful Juls... it's absolutely beautiful," tears streamed down her face.

Julius began to struggle holding the violin, as the melody died off slowly.

Annette opened the door to her apartment as she carried in a handful of large paper bags.

She put the bags on the coffee table with a sigh of relief, and hung her umbrella on the coat rack.

"Julius! You left the door unlocked again! How many times do I have to tell you to make

sure you always-"

She gasped and collapsed on the floor, she found Julius with his wrists slashed open holding

a bloody bow and violin.