thaopixelpoet's 100-word story for June 8, 2025

thaopixelpoet wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on June 8, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

It's like being trapped underwater. I can't hear anything. I can't feel anything. When I was five, I won an international classical piano contest and was praised as a prodigy. Now, am I becoming like Beethoven? Musically gifted yet cursed to never hear a single note again? In that case, I'd rather be a normal boy with no interests nor talent. A mediocre life. A peaceful life. I've been sitting at my Steinway for hours. To me, it creaks as if made out of worn-out wood. Dead leaves keys. Thorny roots twist around my arms. I don't feel alive anymore.

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