A Lonesome Whippoorwill
Posted on Thu 3rd Dec, 2020 @ 12:35am by
368 words; about a 2 minute read
Mission:
Denouement
Location: Orchids & Jazz, Deck 600
Timeline: MD 6, 2115
The semi-darkness of the jazz club hid the diners from the two women on stage. A soft yellow light picked them out of the darkness, revealing a woman of medium height, dressed in a long purple gown with white orchids picked out in a swirl from waist to hem. As she lifted a shimmering alto sax to her lips and began to play, the notes meandered between patrons, calling out their emotions, preparing them for the words the other woman began to pour forth in a warm, sultry alto voice.
"Did you ever hear the whippoorwill fill up the purple sky? Hear that lonesome song he sings? He sounds too blue to fly. Like me, he's lost the will to live, and I'm so lonesome I could cry." Isadora Bee's words wove a wave of sorrow over the crowd as she sang her own version of an ancient song that evoked the loneliness in all of them.
"I've never seen a night so long, when time goes crawling by. The midnight train is whining low, the moon just went behind the clouds ... and I'm so lonelsome I could cry."
Every eye was on the duo who stood alone on the stage. As Jade's alto sax wailed it's grief across them, the diners forgot to eat, forks lying idle in hands and on the tables. The notes swirled and called to the dread of ancient nights spent alone in caves and on hilltops, facing whatever the night held without the comfort of another human being.
"Did you ever see a robin weep when leaves began to die? The night goes on a-drifting by, and as I wonder where you are, I'm so lonesome I could cry."
The singer's head bowed as the light began to dim. The final notes of the saxophone accumulated in dim corners and faded to nothing as it became dark on stage. A moment of silence enveloped the club and then applause began. It wasn't the polite pitter patter of hands, but a full-blown thundering of appreciation for all the women had made the audience feel with only a voice and a few notes from an instrument well played.
RSS Feed