《Sun Song》


 The song.

    ¡°Chirp! Tweet! Chirp chirp tweet!¡±


    Kari looked up as her aunt came down the stairs.


    ¡°Child, what are you doing?¡± her aunt asked, yawning.


    ¡°I¡¯m singing hello to the sun,¡± Kari said. ¡°Like the birds do. Tweet chirp tweet!¡±


    ¡°Do you have to sing at ten after five in the morning?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when the sun gets up, so, yeah.¡±


    Her aunt sighed. ¡°Of course. Tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡± Kari looked out the window again, listening to the birds. ¡°Tweechirp!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Ssssss! Sssssweeeeee! Sweeeeeee!¡±


    Kari looked up as her aunt came down the stairs.


    ¡°Trying to whistle?¡± she guessed.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m trying to copy bird sounds better. Sssuuuuuuuup!¡±


    Her aunt yawned. ¡°Your teeth are too close together. Tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡± She smiled as the first ray of light hit the windowsill. ¡°Thhhhhhpppppppppp!¡±


    <hr>


    Kari whistled, trying to copy the bird sounds as the sun rose. Her aunt came down the stairs, yawning.


    ¡°You do this every morning?¡±


    ¡°The sun rises every morning,¡± Kari shrugged.


    ¡°Good point. You¡¯re off pitch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t make sounds as high as the birds.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably regret this, but have you ever tried using a flute or recorder?¡±


    ¡°Nope! Should I?¡±


    Her aunt smiled. ¡°Probably not. I¡¯ll get you one today, they¡¯re easy enough to learn. Tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡±


    <hr>


    Kari put her fingers over the holes in the recorder and tried to copy the birds. It sounded awful.


    ¡°Yep, instant regret,¡± her aunt muttered, coming down the stairs. ¡°Go slower with your breath, it¡¯ll give the air time to make actual notes instead of that horrid screeching.¡±


    ¡°Ok! Thanks!¡± Kari took a deep breath and made a less awful sound on the recorder.


    ¡°Better. Tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡±


    <hr>


    Kari focused, playing something on the recorder that didn¡¯t make her ears ring. It wasn¡¯t nearly as pretty as the bird¡¯s songs, but it wasn¡¯t so bad that it¡¯d make the sun go back under the horizon.


    ¡°I never asked why you greet the sun every day,¡± her aunt said, coming down the stairs.


    Kari lowered the recorder. ¡°Mom¡­ She had to take pills at five every morning. She didn¡¯t like them, so I had to get up to make sure she ate them. Then we¡¯d stay awake and sing to the sun with the birds.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Her aunt went to the kitchen to make tea. Kari started playing the recorder again.


    <hr>


    Kari tried to copy one bird in particular. It was a very pretty song. If she could just get that one note to sound right¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s starting to sound like an actual song,¡± her aunt said. ¡°You¡¯d need more than five notes, though.¡±


    ¡°What if I put all the bird songs in a row?¡± Kari asked, smiling at her.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Then you could practice it and have an actual sun song to play every day.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Her aunt hesitated. ¡°Do- do you want me to play with you?¡±


    Kari thought about it, watching the rose bush outside slowly brighten.


    ¡°No. The song was made by me and Mom. You can hear it, but I don¡¯t want anyone else to play it.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡±


    <hr>


    Kari focused. Tweechirp followed by the doo-woop bird sound followed by the bird that made sounds like a car alarm. There were other bird sounds, but they¡¯d be added once she got these ones perfect.


    Her aunt came down the stairs and listened for a while before heading to the kitchen. Kari kept playing. A few minutes later she came back and handed Kari a cup of tea.


    ¡°The sun song is sounding good,¡± she said.


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    She pulled Kari into a hug. ¡°Your mom would¡¯ve loved it.¡±