I sat on my black leather couch thinking about how my life had ended. How could something that was so wonderful, so peaceful, so happy, just end? It was as if the world had ceased and there was nothing left but broken hearts, but the world went on without me and I was left alone to piece myself back together.

I had to distract myself, so I pulled out my acoustic guitar, my baby. I guess this was the girl in my life right now. I started to strum mindlessly, but all that came to me was the song, her song. I put the guitar away and turned on the radio to my favorite station, hoping that I would catch some pointers from one of the greats. I think Bono was supposed to be on air today. I looked at my calendar that was hanging on the stainless steel refrigerator, was my mind really that mixed up?

My brain was four days late. I was a mess, I haven’t left the loft in five days, and I was running out of food. A man needs his food. My mind was so busy that when a familiar tune came on I sang along without thinking. It wasn’t until the second verse that I realized that my gruff voice matched the one on the radio perfectly. Of course it did, it was my voice, my music, my song. No, it was her song. But wait, I was on the radio. A song that I wrote was on the radio. I called my manager.

“Congratulations!” He said to me happily. “All the radio stations are playing it, it’s going to be a number one hit, all my famous buddies are endorsing it during interviews. They are telling the world of your undiscovered talent, well it’s discovered now because of me.” He also said, “You better get creative juices flowing so that you and I aren’t only known for this song, not a one-hit wonders.” Just before I hung up he told me, “Check out iTunes, it’s in the top ten.” Wow the top ten on iTunes. I didn’t even know that my song was on iTunes, much less in the top ten. After about twenty minutes, the excitement wore off and I was feeling depressed again. So I turned on the TV to the Ellen DeGeneres Show. There I saw Jason Mraz talking calmly as if he and Ellen were best friends.

“So I hear you are a great mentor for him,” Ellen was saying.

“Yeah, he’s a great kid,” Jason replied, “I met him at a party in New York and he was eager to succeed, and I knew that he would with his talent.” I wondered if they were talking about me, I met Jason at a party in New York and he had helped me a great deal. I grabbed my blackberry and saw that I actually had a text from Jason giving me kudos for my new single.

Ellen continued, “And that new song of his, “Only for You” just warms my heart, I love it. Should we play it?” She asked her audience. There were cheers and all of a sudden my song was playing. Was there no escape to this madness? How long had it been going on? I looked a Jason’s text and I saw that it was five days old. I know that as an artist I should be thrilled that my song was playing on TV, but I wasn’t ready for this, not yet.

I grabbed my keys and ran out of my apartment. I got in my car and drove to my happy place, where I could sing away, to the karaoke bar my sister owned. Every time I settled on a station it would pop up. This was not supposed to happen, the day I wrote that song was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, not the beginning of a horrible nightmare.


I had been writing all morning, even skipped breakfast. After I was done, I called all my people, we were going to record. First I made a stop at the jeweler’s. I picked up the beautiful token of my never-ending love. After I was done recording, I went straight to her apartment building. With my guitar in one hand and the ring in my pocket I climbed the ladder to her balcony, praying that she was home. I knocked on the glass door attracting her attention. When she opened the door I started playing the song. I sang it for her and when I was done I grabbed her hand and got down on one knee. I told her that I loved her more than anything or anyone else in the world, that she was my world. I promised to take care of her and honor her every day of my life. Then I asked her if she would marry me. Before she could answer a tall man came behind her.

“Sweetheart, who is this?” He didn’t seem to care that he had interrupted something. “Is this that loser, nobody, signer that you still haven’t dumped for me?” Her perfect face fell into shock. Before she could answer he addressed me, “It’s over, bub. She’s with me now. She has been for two months.”

Without saying a word she picked up my guitar and gently handed it to me. She murmured my name quietly.

“Forget it,” I snatched my instrument from her unworthy hands, “forget everything.” And I climbed down the stairs.


I continued to think of her until I got to the karaoke bar. My sister ran out to greet me.

“Hey rock star! I’ve been wondering when you were going to come over. I can’t believe it, I’m so proud of you.” She led me inside reaching towards the boom box, “I’ve got it ready to play.”

“No, don’t!” I almost shouted.

“Why?” she asked in a confused voice. “This is your moment. By the way, did she like the ring?”

“She didn’t even get a chance to wear it.” I snapped. “She had been cheating on me. There was a guy in her apartment; he kind of ruined the moment.”

“Oh my!” I felt her long, warm arms wrap around me. “How dare she break my baby bro’s heart.” She paused for a second and then her eyes lit up, “Oh! And now you have to be reminded of her every two seconds.” She held me for a while.

“And the worst part is that I gave my whole heart to someone and it wasn’t good enough.”

“Oh no,” she squeezed me tighter, “it wasn’t you, it was her, it wasn’t you.”

*
*
*


I walked up to my loft and I saw her standing there by my door. She had the nerve to come here, I thought, “this better be good.” If she would have come a day earlier I would have been thrilled but my sister had sparked something inside me. But I knew her better now. I wasn’t a nobody anymore, I was famous.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she sobbed, “I’m so sorry. I was a jerk, I was awful.”

“Yeah, you were.” This was an Oscar-worthy performance.

“But you want me back, right? ‘Every time you leave my sight, I wanna see you one more time.”’ She quoted directly from my song.

I stared at her, this woman that I had loved enough to want to marry her and I said, “It can’t be true, you really can’t be mine.” I finished the line from my song and I closed the door in her face.”