THE WEP’S AUGUST 2022, MOONLIGHT SONATA CHALLENGE, The Power of Touch BY Pat Garcia @pat_garcia, #WEP, #IWSG, Many Thanks To all!
Tagline: Her glances revealed the short, distinct, presto beats as her fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard. The vibrations of her chest painted her laughter, and the nodding of her head the intensity of her feeling.
The Power of Touch
How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves. (SS 1:16 NIV 2011)*
Gianluca saw the pureness of Aniyah’s soul through her eyes. As she looked deep into his, her gaze allowed him to hear the adagio of the triplets of the piano keys introducing the eternal beginning of the melancholic principal theme as she slowly swayed her body from left to right. Her stare gave him some semblance of the longevity of the musical arrangement. He got up from the bar stool and walked around the grand piano, and sat on the piano stool next to her.
His severely damaged ears perceived sounds through her body, and he listened to the wistfulness of the keys she played through the power of touching her. She played the principal theme through the open lid of the Börsendorfer he’d bought her as a gift.
Gianluca grunted. Aniyah’s reaction to his gift still lingered in his memory. Tears had spilled from her eyes, and her arms had hugged his chest tightly. Overwhelmed, she had even tried to embrace the Börsendorfer that now stood in their living room.
Such an emotional woman; she was worthy of so much more.
She had given him back a reason to live.
The rhythm of the principal theme flowed through the sways of her body. Gianluca closed his eyes and encircled her waist so he could listen to the dark, solemn tones that beguiled him as he touched her. He was in love with Aniyah and with the Moonlight Sonata. It was his favorite musical piece by Beethoven. The sad, melancholy opening reminded him of his loss and his gain.
Bombs bursting not far from where he had sought safety had profoundly damaged his ears and robbed him of his auditory nerves. His sensorineural hearing loss was permanent.
Aniyah’s patience had taught him how to hear with his soul; to release his hatred at becoming deaf; to forgive and not to blame. She’d shown him how valuable Sign Language, Lip Reading, and most importantly, how touch could help him perceive sounds. He imagined the invisible reality of the waves passing through his defunct auditory canal.
Gianluca sat next to her, watching her facial mimic, feeling the movement of her body. Their forthcoming evening of pleasure played out like a movie in his mind as he imagined the dark, grave, timbre of the triplets played, and he smiled.
***
Aniyah glanced at her husband as her fingers touched the keys. His curly black hair bounced.
Strange that a man with such pleasing, good looks could have so many inner scars.
Even more weird was how she had met him. The anguish on his face after she’d grabbed him from the edge of the platform where the velocity of a fast-moving train created a back draft. She’d sensed that he couldn’t hear the train approaching. She’d pulled him back just in time. The train would have sucked him into its path. Not knowing if he could sign language, she’d used it to see if he could. When he nodded his head, she apologized for grasping him so tightly. And their relationship started. A tight hug around the waist to pull him out of harm’s way had gotten her her favorite Cappuccino, a club sandwich, and then a slice of German Chocolate Cake at a Cafe. The afternoon had turned into evening. Dinner followed, and she’d found herself involved with an incredible stranger who now had a name, Gianluca Abate. Refusing to let her go, he told her his life story through sign language.
Aniyah, a boisterous woman with a teeny-weeny afro who had just turned forty, had been raised in an orphanage. When she was six years old, she heard the Moonlight Sonata for the first time and knew she wanted to be a pianist. When Aniyah turned thirty-five, she finally left the only home she’d known and started working as a dishwasher in a restaurant in a small town with a community college some two hundred and fifty kilometers away to study music. Now, she was married to Gianluca, whom she’d taught to hear through the power of touch.
She slowed her swaying movements, so Gianluca could feel the tones vibrating through her body and hear the end of the principal theme. Taking a three-second pause, she turned slightly to gaze at him. Smiling, she quickly kissed him before moving into the second theme with its Allegretto three-fourth pace. Her glances revealed the short, distinct, presto beats as her fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard. Her swaying picked up momentum, and Gianluca’s fingers thumped her waist, confirming that he was with her. Her fingers skirted down the keyboard of her Börsendorfer, and the movement intensified as she approached the Presto Agitato of the third theme; she gave all of herself to what the black notes spoke to her.
Abruptly, she slowed the tempo, intentionally allowing herself to hold specific notes sustained, and closed her eyes to enjoy the timbre herself, and she felt Gianluca’s fingers walk across her waistline in beat with the piece as if he were playing the piano himself. She was happy he heard what she heard, albeit with his soul. Thankful that she’d taught him to treasure the power of hearing, not by listening but by perceiving it through touch, she smiled.
And wheresoever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole. (Mark 6:56 ASV)*
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
*Song of Songs 1:16, Taken from the New International Version 2011, Zondervan, A Part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing
*Mark 6:56, Taken from the American Standard Version, Publisher, Olive Tree, Copyright, Public Domain
- Posted in: Flash Fiction ♦ Inspiration ♦ WEP CHALLENGE,
- Tagged: The Power of Touch, WEP August Challenge
Walk On 
Beautiful! The power of touch rendered in the most delightful way!
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Good Morning, Jemi,
Thank you so much.
Shalom aleichem
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Pat, this is TRULY LOVELY. I agree with Jemi’s comment.
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Good Morning, Gwynn,
Thank you, my friend, for reading it. I appreciate that very much.
Shalom aleichem
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As always, such a poetic symphony of feeling, love, and music in all your writing and this is no exception. You know LOVE, my dear!
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Good Morning, Yolanda,
Thank you. It is good to be back. I have missed the WEP but other commitments swallowed up my time.
Shalom aleichem
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A heartwarming story and a good lesson, as well. It’s wonderful how Aniyah could teach Gianluca to hear, through the power of touch.
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Good Morning, Debbie,
Thank you. It is always amazing to me how many of the deaf grasp sounds with unconventional ways.
Shalom aleichem
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Magnificent–hearing through touch and expanding the soul. This is an amazing love story, well-told. I want more.
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Good Morning, J.Q,
Thank you. I truly appreciate your thoughts on the story.
Shalom aleichem
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A wonderful story. It reminded me of a famous deaf musician, Evelyn Glennie. She is internationally renown. She plays percussion. I saw her concert once, when she came to Vancouver. She performed barefoot, so she could sense the rhythm through her soles. She was amazing and she gave a stunning performance!
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Good Morning, Olga,
Thank you for introducing me to Evelyn Giennie. I have looked her up on the internet. She is amazing. I am not a famous singer, but as a very small child as the age of eight, my mother taught me how to sing by listening to the tones within me. We didn’t have a piano or any kind of instrument but that didn’t matter because I was taught that the tones lay within me. From that stage of life my perception of sounds changed and I have always believed that hearing goes much deeper than we all think.
Shalom aleichem
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I love this story, Patti! It’s beautiful and very touching. Thanks for sharing it!
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Good Morning, A.J,
Thank you so much for dropping by and reading the story.
Take care.
Shalom aleichem
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My pleasure! I love your writing. You’re so talented!
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A beautiful tale Patricia sensitively and touchingly told. Very evocative indeed.
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Good Morning, Susan,
Thank you very much. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read it.
I hope you and your family are fine.
Shalom aleichem
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Huge congratulations Pat for your worthy win! Shalom Aleichem 💙
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I love this Pat. Absolutely brilliant.
Nancy
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Good Morning, Nancy,
Thank you for reading it. I truly appreciate it.
Shalom aleichem
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I love the way you incorporate the power of touch in the open and closing scriptures. I also enjoyed how you told the story of the lives of the characters with the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. How you showed his hearing through touch by examples was amazing. You are an amazing writer and I hope you keep writing and entering more stories for us to read.
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Good Morning, Ann,
Thank you so much. It is always amazing for me that anything I write is based on my own experiences that I encounter with specific verses in The Bible.
Shalom aleichem
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You’ve written a lovely and touching love story. Wonderful characters. The story begs for more.
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Good Morning Lenny,
Thank you so much.
Shalom aleichem
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This is truly beautiful, which feels like an understatement. What a wonderful weaving of words and sensations.
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Good Morning, Shannon,
Thank you so much. I truly appreciate your comment. You are one of my hidden mentors, and I have your book, The Business of Short Stories, which is very helpful to me.
Shalom aleichem
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Pat, this is brilliant. I learned something new, which I love to do. It is so amazing to think music can be heard and enjoyed through vibrations. So touching. Do something more with it, Pat. You deserve a wider audience for this piece.
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Good Morning, Denise,
Thank you. It is good to be back with the WEP this month. I have missed not being able to participate.
Shalom aleichem
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Came by again, Pat. This is extraordinary.
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Hello Denise,
That is indeed an honour. Thank you and have a great week.
Shalom aleichem
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Music, touch, love, a drama-felt meeting, the moonlight sonata in the ‘here and now’ and a fleeting reference to Beethoven’s own deafness. This story contains everything. Great read.
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Good Morning, Kalpana,
Thank you.
Shalom aleichem
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This is so good! Really had a great time reading this Pat 🙂 Such a beautiful perspective.
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Good Morning, Damyanti,
Thank you so very much.
Shalom aleichem
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What a wonderful take on this prompt, Pat! Music through touch is so personal and so sensual. No wonder Gianluca fell in love with Aniyah. Such a special love story…
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Good Morning, Michael,
Thank you. There are so many musicians in the world that have changed the way we perceive music and many go unheard.
Shalom aleichem
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This is such a special love story which highlights the power of touch!
I love your mention of the triplet notes, which is the signature sound and forms an integral part of the sonata.
Thank you for sharing, Pat.
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Good Morning, Michelle,
Thank you. The Moonlight Sonata is a very special piece with many emotions. I fell in love with it at a very early age.
Shalom aleichem
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Congratulations on your well-deserved WEP win, Pat!
This was a wonderful story!
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How very, very beautiful. Many thanks.
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Good Morning,
I thank you for taking the time to read it.
Shalom aleichem
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Hi Pat – this is beautifully told … and we do hear through our touch, our vibrations, our world … Rose Ayling-Ellis is a deaf actress who recently won Strictly Come Dancing competition here with her dance partner for the series Giovanni … they had a ‘silent dance segment’ … it was beautiful – and has opened up many to the abilities of the deaf … also worth looking up. So you’ve enriched us all by reminding us of our other abilities of life … thank you and I loved the story – Hilary
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Hi Hilary,
Thank you. I must look up Rose Ayling-Ellis on the internet. People who overcome great obstacles are powerful people from whom I draw strength and encouragement. I love reading their life stories.
Shalom aleichem
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A lovely, sensual experience. I can imagine the scene.
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Good Afternoon, Mary,
Thank you, and once again welcome to the WEP.
Shalom aleichem
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And, Congratulations on winning this month’s writing prompt. Such a lovely entry.
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Such a beautiful tale of love and new beginnings. Your descriptions were so vivid and wonderful!
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Good Afternoon, L.G,
Thank you so much.
Have a lovely weekend.
Shalom aleichem
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Hi Pat
This was such a heartwarming read. So much love and compassion there.
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Good Afternoon,Sonia,
Thank you very much.
Take care, and have a lovely day.
Shalom aleichem
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This is just magnificent. I love that you’ve taken such sweeping big themes – war, disability, love and hate, healing, and woven them into an intimate, poignant flash. Beautiful use of the prompt. Delighted to see you back at WEP, too! Thank you for this wonderful entry.
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Good Afternoon, Nilanjana,
Thank you. I’m a fan of Beethoven as long as I can remember. I heard him first at a young age and my desire was to learn how to play the piano. His music speaks to my heart about what could be in this world, if we would only learn how to listen with more than just our ears.
I am glad to back with WEP. I have missed it.
Shalom aleichem
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This was so original, Pat! I loved the themes that you included in this piece and the way you brought this prompt to life. Great job.
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Good Afternoon, Lee,
Thank you, Lee.
Have a lovely week.
Shalom aleichem
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A romantic and vivid take on the prompt, on the power of music and love. Well done, Pat.
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Hi Christopher,
Thank you so much. I appreciote your coming by.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom aleichem
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A beautiful tale of healing and adapting. When I was a home health nurse I filled in for two weeks with a little fellow who was profoundly deaf, having been born with none of the inner ear structure. I was there on the night shift. He was so sensitive to vibration. If he wasn’t deeply asleep, he could feel when I left the room to go to the bathroom or fix the formula that went through his g-tube. He was a really smart little guy and was learning sign language. At one year old, he already knew quite a bit. All I knew was the salute to tell him hello and goodbye.
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Good Morning,
Thank you so much. Isn’t it wonderful how other parts of the body or the emotions compensates for parts that are loss or damage? Yes, people who have such disabilities have a sixth sense and are so much smarter because they have had to discover how to overcome their disabilities. I admire such people greatly, and I see that you do too. It is comforting knowing that you do too.
Take care.
Shalom aleichem
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Wow!! You’ve done it again! Given the story of true love through touch. I am waiting on the novel to come soon. With all of these stories, I know there is a novel somewhere.
Stay blessed and keep up the great work.
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Good Morning, Lucilleshanks,
Thank you so much for reading my Flash fiction story. Thank you also for continuing to follow my blog. You are one of those precious silent individuals that I treasure, because you are in the background somewhere on this planet and you’re rooting for me.
I can only say that a novel will come but I don’t know when. I hope you stay in touch through this blog or through my newsletter, because whenever it does happen my readers will be informed first.
Take care.
Shalom aleichem
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Absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful and touching.
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Good Afternoon, Bernadette,
Thank you so much for coming by and for your very lovely comment.
Have a great week.
Shalom aleichem
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Dear Patricia, Your words are incredible creating a beautiful painting lifting up one’s soul. 💐🌈🎶🎁
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Good Afternoon, Barbara,
The WEP is a group of authors that I enjoy writing with. Many thanks for dropping by and for you opinion on my this flash fiction piece.
Have a lovely week.
Shalom aleichem
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This story is soulful. Hearing music through anything but our ears would be difficult, but it’s done. The characters are alive to me and grow. Love it.
Teresa
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Good Evening, Teresa,
Thank you for dropping by my blog and reading The Power of Touch. I too like this story because it mirrors the soulfulness that streams out of my heart.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem
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Huge congratulations on your WEP win for this stunning piece.
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So delighted to see you the winner, Pat. Congratulations!
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That’s a beautiful story Pat–a well-deserved win. I love that you find the positive in the pain; a lesson we all have to master sooner or later.
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Hello Rebecca,
Thank you so much. I know the feeling about being out of touch. I missed participating because I just didn’t have the time. I hope to see you in future WEP. I do enjoy it our flashes very much.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem
Pat
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