Naila's Apartment - Morning
The morning sun streamed through the windows, casting warm light across the living room. Gerlie was already awake, which was surprising, considering she'd only been alive for a day.
She was standing in the middle of the room, examining her treble clef pendant with great interest.
"Good morning, Mama!" she called out cheerfully.
Naila shuffled in, still half-asleep. "It's too early for enthusiasm."
"It's never too early for enthusiasm! Awesome, I know!"
Naila collapsed onto the couch. "What are you doing?"
Gerlie held up her pendant. "I'm trying to figure out what this does. It's pretty, but I feel like there's more to it."
"It's just a necklace."
"No, Mama. It's special. I can feel it."
Naila closed her eyes. "Feel it later. Sleep now."
But Gerlie was already experimenting. She hummed a soft tune, and the pendant began to glow.
"Oh!" Gerlie's eyes widened. "Did you see that?!"
Naila opened one eye. "See what?"
"The pendant! It glowed!"
"Probably just the light."
"No, Mama! It's magic! I can feel it!"
Gerlie hummed louder. The glow grew brighter.
Then, without warning, a blast of musical energy shot out of the pendant.
It hit the lamp. The lamp flew across the room.
Naila sat up. "What was that?!"
"I don't know! But it was awesome!"
Gerlie hummed again. Another blast. The bookshelf rattled. Books flew off the shelves.
"GERLIE! STOP!"
"I can't! It just happens when I hum!"
The pendant glowed brighter. The couch started vibrating.
Naila grabbed a pillow. "Hum something else! Something calm!"
Gerlie hummed a lullaby. The energy shifted. The room stopped shaking.
But then she got excited. The lullaby turned into a pop song. The energy returned, stronger than before.
The coffee table flipped. The curtains flew open. The TV turned on by itself.
Naila covered her head. "I'M TOO TIRED FOR THIS!"
***
Naila's Apartment - 15 Minutes Later
Fatimah, Chima, Wony, and Alice burst through the door.
"What happened?!" Fatimah demanded.
Naila was hiding behind the couch. "Gerlie has powers. Musical powers. And she can't control them."
Gerlie was standing in the middle of the room, looking both proud and slightly guilty. "I didn't mean to! I just hummed!"
Chima stared at the chaos. "You did ALL of this by humming?!"
"Yes! Awesome, I know!"
"It's NOT awesome! It's DESTRUCTIVE!"
Alice was filming, of course. "This is INCREDIBLE! Gerlie is a musical superhero!"
Gerlie beamed. "I am! I'm Music Girl!"
"You're a MENACE!" Wony shouted, dodging a flying book.
Wony's hair was a mess. Books were everywhere. The TV was on a cooking show that no one had turned on. The curtains were wrapped around the ceiling fan.
Fatimah took charge. "Okay, everyone calm down. Gerlie, you need to learn to control your power."
"How do I do that?!"
"I don't know! But we'll figure it out!"
Gerlie tried to hum softly. The pendant glowed. A stack of magazines flew into the air.
"NOT SOFT ENOUGH!"
"I'M TRYING!"
Alice joined in. "Maybe you need to hum a specific song! Like... a calming one!"
Gerlie hummed a lullaby. The magazines gently floated back down.
"YES! That's it!"
But then Gerlie got excited again. The lullaby turned into a fast beat. The magazines shot back up.
Chima grabbed the magazines. "STOP GETTING EXCITED!"
"I CAN'T HELP IT! I'M A DIVA!"
***
Naila's Apartment - 30 Minutes Later
They had somehow managed to contain the chaos temporarily.
Gerlie was sitting in the corner, humming the lullaby over and over. The pendant was glowing softly, but nothing was flying anymore.
Wony was fixing her hair. "This is the most stressful morning I've ever had."
"You've had more stressful mornings," Chima pointed out.
"Like what?!"
"The fainting incident."
"That was different! That was funny!"
"This is TERRIFYING!"
Alice was still filming. "Gerlie, can you try humming a different song? Something happy?"
Gerlie hummed "Happy Birthday." The lights flickered.
"Maybe not that."
Gerlie hummed a classical song. The room calmed down.
"Okay, okay. Classical is good. Keep doing that."
Gerlie nodded. "I can do that. For now. But I want to try pop music later!"
"NO!"
***
Naila's Bedroom - Same Time
Azka, Naila's sister, had let herself in, as usual. She was looking for something to borrow. Without asking. As usual.
"Where does she keep her good clothes?" Azka muttered, rummaging through the closet.
She pulled out a cute top. "Perfect. She won't even notice."
Azka was about to leave when she noticed the drawing on Naila's desk. It was the paper where Naila had drawn Gerlie, now with an empty space where the figure used to be.
Azka picked it up. "What's this? Looks like my sister's terrible art."
She studied the drawing. The figure was gone, but the background remained; the silver headband, the treble clef necklace, the flowing black hair.
Azka snorted. "So lazy she didn't even finish it."
On a whim, Azka grabbed a pen and drew a monster in the empty space. Sharp teeth, angry eyes, and claws. She made it as scary as possible.
"There. Now it's actually interesting."
She dropped the paper on the desk and walked out, holding Naila's top.
The paper began to glow.
But this time, the glow was dark. Sinister and evil.
The monster on the paper moved. Its eyes opened.
And then it stepped out of the paper.
***
Naila's Bedroom - Moments Later
The monster was tall, shadowy, and terrifying. Its teeth were sharp. Its eyes glowed red. Its claws scraped across the floor.
It looked around the room. It sniffed the air.
Then it spoke, in a low, growling voice.
"Where... is... the creator..."
It moved toward the door.
***
Living Room
Gerlie suddenly stopped humming. Her pendant stopped glowing.
"Something's wrong," she whispered.
Naila looked up. "What do you mean?"
"I can feel it. Something dark. Something bad."
The door to the bedroom creaked open.
Everyone turned.
The monster stepped out.
Chima screamed. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
Alice dropped her phone. "THAT'S TERRIFYING!"
Wony fainted.
Fatimah grabbed a lamp. "Stay back!"
The monster growled. "I am... the Dark One. Created by... the sister. I seek... the creator..."
Gerlie stepped forward, her pendant glowing brightly. "You're not welcome here."
The monster laughed. A dark, rumbling laugh.
"You... cannot... stop me... Music Girl..."
Gerlie's eyes narrowed. "Try me."88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsXu5LJweg
and then Add to home screen.