I have yearned for acoustic guitar lessons for so long it already slips into my subconscious mind. I can almost feel the curve of the guitar snugly fitted into my chest, the strings vibrating to a tentative strum, the pulsating tune slowly billowing out from the instrument. I have watched musicians lose themselves in the moment whenever they start to play and I wondered how it felt like to be one with the music you are creating.
It didn’t take long before I found out for myself. Just when all this seemed like a far-fetched idea, everything came into place. I saw my classmates huddled up under a big acacia tree one school day and I got curious enough to approach them. And it was then that I saw him – my seatmate, holding close to his body the acoustic guitar I have secretly been pining for in a local music shop. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears – here was this very seatmate who annoyed me during my daydream moments about having acoustic guitar lessons, playing the instrument I so loved to learn how to play the most, and playing it well.
I admit I was mesmerized. Gone were all the negative vibes I harbored towards him. Seeing him play like the acoustic musicians I have long admired made me feel like I’m a bit closer to my dream than ever before. “He plays my favorite songs well”, I heard myself whisper. Even if I was watching from afar, I could tell that it took him years to perfect whatever it is that he does and I suddenly admired him for all the years of discipline he went through in order to play the acoustic guitar so well.
I was drawn from my reverie when I saw five pairs of eyes suddenly fixed on my dreamy smile. I suddenly wiped the smile out of my face and said “You play well”, before storming out. What was I thinking? I managed to look like a total fool. But oh, the melody, the rhythm, the beat: how can I forget it? And that’s when it hit me: I have to have acoustic guitar lessons, even if I only have to play for myself.
I never felt him approach me nor hear his footsteps slowly echoing mine. I almost shrieked when he tapped on my shoulder. “I could give you one”, he said nonchalantly. “Huh?” I heard myself mutter. “I overheard you mumbling to yourself about having some acoustic guitar lessons and I thought I could help you out on that if you’d let me”, he said. I was stunned. He seemed to read my thoughts too well, I only mustered enough courage to nod my head and say “Ok” before we stopped on the nearest park bench and began his impromptu acoustic guitar lessons.
To date, my seatmate and I now play together almost every single day. Our thirst for music is quenched for every second that we hold our acoustic guitars, for every minute we spend playing them, for every hour that we’re together, collaborating and having a great time. I now have someone I could share my thoughts with, have someone to play with, have someone to dream with. For after all these years of friendship, I now have someone who I can say is my partner in life whom I can collaborate with on all aspects. A partner I never went out in search of but have found me by fulfilling a very simple dream. And I have those acoustic guitar lessons to truly thank for, not just for the skill with which I have right now, but by finding the soul mate I never thought existed, until now.
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