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mozart-and-mocha · 5 years

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Major key with 1 flat

A few days after I met Rafaela for the first time, many weeks ago, I started changing. My voice got deeper, going from an alto to a tenor, my muscle mass increased, and I was stronger and faster. When I played sports with my parallel minor, the sporty and usually energetic F minor, I gradually came on par with her. After a few weeks in, I decided to tell her once and for all. She wasn’t surprised in the least. Maybe the changes were faster and more obvious than I realised. The good thing was, I was beginning to feel more like myself with each passing week.

Today, I decided to meet up with her and A-flat major, just to talk and relax. Somehow I found being around F minor therapeutic. It was a change from being with the sad and dark D minor, even though I love her. But hanging out with F minor, well, she charged my energy. We are parallel keys, after all. And I enjoy being with A-flat major, too.

We agreed to meet in a lounge room at a community centre where F minor coached badminton and swimming. The floor was carpeted, the chairs were cushioned, and there was a rug to lie down on next to cushions and stuffed toys. On top of a small bookshelf was a boiling kettle, six ceramic mugs, six teaspoons, and a box’s worth of tea bags, coffee packets, powdered milk, and some sugar. There was also a table that could seat up to 8 people, surrounded by office chairs.

When I arrived, the lights in the room were already on. I pushed open the door and saw the athletic F minor sitting on a cushioned chair by the rug, next to the bookshelf. She was reading, but when she heard the creak of the door, she looked up and smiled at me. “Hi,” I greeted her warmly. “Thanks for booking this room on a Sunday. I love this place.”

“I know, right? It’s where I go sometimes after a swimming or badminton class.” F minor adjusted her position, and her hair flowed along with her movements. She’s a tall Russian beauty, and a talented one at that. Not only is she a sports teacher, she teaches the violin and piano too, together with tutoring music theory classes. I wondered what it was like when it came to explaining herself when teaching key signatures.

“So, did you tell anyone else yet?” F minor asked me. It took me a while to realise she was talking about my transition. “Um, I told my relative minor. And I think Rafaela, who’s in one of D major’s math classes, knows. Either that, or she suspects something. I couldn’t bring myself to say it outright to her, but I dropped hints hoping she’d take them.” I settled down on the rug and leaned on a cushion.

F minor sat down next to me. “It’s okay, I understand it can be scary,” she said. “If anyone gives you grief for that, let me know. I’ll fight them. And A-flat major will gladly talk to you and comfort you.”

“Speaking of A-flat major...” Before I could finish, the door swung open. A-flat major was there, a kind smile on her face. She appears to be in her 50s, and many children gravitate to her because she is like the grandmother many of them didn’t have, without her being old enough to be seen as a grandparent. Maybe more of a mentor.

“Hello, dears,” she said, coming in and settling down on the chair F minor was in when I came in. “Good to see you again, F major. And F minor, thanks for arranging a time for us to catch up with one another. We can go for lunch soon and I’ll treat you both.” I tried to protest, but A-flat major did not listen to me. She really is that kind. “Please, if you insist on treating someone for lunch, let it be F minor. After all, you two share a key signature,” I argued. “Plus...”

“Nah, that’s not happening,” A-flat major insisted. “You’re pretty close to me yourself, you know? We’re both linked to F minor.” I looked at my parallel minor, who had an amused look, as if seeing her relative and parallel keys gently bicker about lunch brought her joy.

“Anyway, that’s settled. So, update me. How’s it been going with your own relative minor, F major?” A-flat major inquired. I noticed she and F minor exchanging a smile. I wished I could have that bond with D minor, but sometimes I felt as if she was afraid of me. Okay, maybe not afraid. But I could tell there was something that bothered her and she didn’t talk to me about it. Had it been these two in the room with me, they’d have talked it out and tried to deal with the problem.

“It’s, uh, pretty okay, I guess,” I replied hesitantly. “I’m trying to reach out to her, because you know, the whole saddest key thing and all, but there’s something she’s hiding from me. I already know she has some kind of depression that’s hurting her, but she just won’t open up to me about it. How am I supposed to help her?” My voice had taken on a pleading tone.

F minor stroked my shoulder. “Honestly, F major, I’m sure she knows you care about her, and it’s not just because you two are relative keys. Anyone can see that you truly are devoted to the people in your life.”

“F minor is right,” A-flat major interjected. “Don’t beat yourself up, Fa Maggiore.” At the sound of my name in Italian, I felt a loving kind of warmth go through me. The love of family. I basked in that feeling, allowing myself only a few seconds of that pleasure, before I braced myself to speak. Before I could utter a sound, however, A-flat major started speaking. “You know I’d talk to D minor myself, but since our tonics form a tritone, the tension might make it worse, and instead of me helping her feel better, she might feel even more isolated because she might think nobody can connect with her. And if either you or F minor are with me when we talk to her, our tonics will form a diminished triad. But there’s always a solution, such as other keys, like the subdominant and dominant keys, if you really need them. And I think F minor would gladly help you out too.”

F minor nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to. She hung out with me once in the past few weeks, with D major and E major. Of course, being D minor, she just sat by the side, like she didn’t want to join in. We played frisbee, and then D major took a nap right in the sun after that. I put some leaves in her hair, and when she woke up, she started yelling at me, but not in a serious way. And I think that time cheered D minor up somewhat. So it’s possible. You just have to figure out how to get her to agree to come in the first place, which isn’t easy because depression can and does isolate its victims.” F minor was so determined, it was hard to feel hopeless. She is just that powerful.

“Enough about me, and well, her. How are you doing, the two of you? Or rather, A-flat major, since I roughly know what my parallel minor has been up to lately.” I looked at A-flat major and F minor, and they were so content with each other’s company, it made me feel sorry for D minor. I doubted she was this close to D major, and if my suspicion was right, she was a really lonely character. Meanwhile, F minor moved even closer to me, as if she could sense my thoughts and wanted to comfort me. It wasn’t that obvious to most people who passed her by, but F minor did have a heart of gold beneath all those muscles and strong vibes she exuded.

“Hmm...I’m doing well, thank you. I’ve been in touch with G-sharp minor recently, and we’re planning to meet together with C major and A minor in a few days, if possible. We’re trying to protect the musical emotions that a few people in this society can still experience. The numbers might be decreasing because of the government’s crackdown on the arts and emotion in general, but if we work together with synaesthetic musicians, we can help one another to survive.” A-flat major looked slightly pained as she talked. I understood that. This whole mess was not easy for any of us, especially for the less common key signatures, like A-flat major and G-sharp minor. I glanced at F minor to see how she reacted to her relative major’s struggles, and F minor looked furious. Not with A-flat major, of course, but with the force that was burdening her. F minor looked ready for a fight, and I had no doubt she would gladly fight whoever hurt her loved ones. It was at times like this, it’s when I thought about how F minor and A-flat major are one of the rare pairs of relative keys where the minor key is energetic and lively while the major key is demure in comparison, maybe even a little sad.

“The issue is, I’m not that worried about myself. It’s G-sharp minor I’m concerned for, since she’s a less common key than me. Liszt, Chopin, and Schubert knew me pretty well, but I can’t say the same for G-sharp minor. At least, not that I know of.” Now A-flat major was starting to sound a little like a grandmother concerned about her husband while reminiscing on her younger days, except that she and G-sharp minor aren’t married. But to be fair, all 24 of us keys were prone to the reminiscing of our earlier days, not just A-flat major. After all, we’ve been around for a long time.

A-flat major continued, jolting me from my thoughts. “By the way, F minor, I appreciate that you would fight for me and G-sharp minor, but I would rather you didn’t. You do have a temper, and the last time that happened...”

A-flat major must have sensed F minor’s thoughts. I smiled to myself; I could imagine a furious F minor charging at an assailant who had the misfortune of mistaking her and her friends for an easy target. “Yeah, I know,” F minor grumbled. “But I want to protect you. And you as well,” she added, looking at me. A-flat major grinned. “I know, but you do need to control that temper of yours, fiery F minor,” I replied. A-flat major and I shared that kind of smile where the people involved are happy to be together. We often did that when we were both around F minor and had to calm her down.

Footsteps and voices walked past the room. “I think we should get going,” F minor seized the opportunity to change the subject. She hated it whenever people tried to get her to calm down, but given her character, it was necessary, even when confronting evil. As A-flat major had once said, F minor was a raging fire just waiting to consume the world. She was a fighter, an angel of justice. “Time’s almost up, and I’m hungry. Ready for lunch, you two?” She stood up and took a long stride towards the door, her calf muscles bulging as she moved.

“Of course I am,” A-flat major replied, looking at me. “And don’t worry, I’m paying for your lunch.” At that moment, I wished A-flat major and I were regular humans, and that she was my grandmother, or even my aunt. A-flat major would really make a good grandma or aunt, or maybe even mother. I went for grandmother and aunt in this scenario I dreamt up. It’s sad to say, but I didn’t trust a mother to treat me as kindly as A-flat major did. Assuming that we still maintained our personalities and non-musical identities, I imagined coming out to her as her grandson or nephew. F minor could be my best friend, or even a cousin or a sister. If she was my cousin, would she be A-flat major’s kid or grandkid like me, but from different parents? And what about D minor? How would she fit into this hypothetical family? Would she be a cousin who’s an only child?

I didn’t realise I was lost in thought until I stumbled out the door and tripped. Before I could fall over, F minor gripped me tight. “Whoa, what happened?” F minor asked. “You looked really spaced out there, Fa Maggiore,” A-flat major said kindly. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine, thanks. Didn’t realise I was on autopilot until I tripped.” I tried to smile at them, but I guessed I didn’t, because they looked worried. “Don’t worry, okay? I’m sure you’ll manage to talk to D minor eventually,” A-flat major’s soothing voiced flowed into my ears. “And if you need help, F minor and I are here. Of course, with your relative minor things can get messy, but like I said, we’ll find a way to work things out.”

I forced myself to smile and nod, because I wanted them to stop worrying about me and my problems. There were just some things I had to handle myself. But for now, I allowed myself to enjoy spending time with F minor and A-flat major. With them around, what could go wrong that couldn’t eventually be fixed?

#personification #d minor #f minor #a flat major #f major

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