Chapter Text
Wilbur Soot was six when he saw a guitar for the first time. He had been taken to a concert by his parents the previous night and had fallen in love the second he heard the opening chord from the guitar. It didn’t matter that he had to sit on his dad’s shoulders just to see over the crowd, or that his ear defenders were a bit too small for his head, all he saw for two hours was that shiny, red electric guitar.
He begged his parents for weeks afterwards to let him start guitar lessons but they were unsure. Wilbur was a very small child and had even tinier hands and they thought he would be too small to be able to reach the strings at that age. So they kept brushing off his pleas, saying he could when he was older. However, Wilbur Soot was persistent. Everyday he would ask again and when his request was ignored he would run back to his room and make a mark on his wall with the date, documenting his height. Now, being six-years-old, Wilbur wasn’t able to accurately measure himself ever. He would stretch his arms up as high as he could and show his parents with an adorable “look I’m getting taller!”
Eventually, his parents did give in after seeing his commitment to the instrument. A cold, November Saturday was spent inside a little music shop. Wilbur was in awe of all the instruments around him but he didn’t touch because his parents explained that instruments were very delicate and expensive. He especially liked the tiny guitars displayed in the window and was upset when he was informed that they weren’t actually guitars at all but a whole other instrument called a ukulele! Wilbur had lots to learn.
The man working at the front desk was very helpful as the Soot’s searched for an appropriate guitar for the little boy. He pointed them towards the smaller guitars as the back of the shop and showed Wilbur how to hold them correctly. After seeing Wilbur’s fascination with the ukuleles he showed the young boy to the colourful guitars they had decorating the walls. Wilbur immediately had his heart set on the neon yellow one on the top shelf. The man had to get out a step stool to reach it. His parents looked on in disgust at the eyesore that was now in their son’s arms. Wilbur didn’t care - he was cool now.
***
Wilbur’s first lesson came very soon after the purchase of his guitar. He had them with the man from the music shop who introduced himself as Phil. Wilbur liked Phil - he was funny. By the end of their first session Wilbur had walked out being able to play four chords and knew twice as many bird facts. By their fifth session Wilbur knew “Twinkle, twinkle little star” off by heart. By the new year he could read finger charts and knew how to play from a tab and he was starting to read sheet music too!
It was June that same year when Phil told him about a concert that was being held in the local theatre the next month. He wanted Wilbur to perform in front of people for the first time. This was the day Wilbur had dreamed of since the concert he went to with his parents all those months ago. He could no longer remember who they saw, but the image of the guitarist was permanently in his mind. Wilbur would be the guitarist now!
He spent hours practising for the concert, wanting the piece to be perfect. He was going to be playing the melody line to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. It took less than a minute to play, but Wilbur vowed to make those the best sounding seconds in his entire life.
The day before the concert had arrived and it was time to rehearse on the stage for the first time! Wilbur felt like he had butterflies in his stomach and bees under his skin all day long, finding it impossible to sit still - even through story time which he loved. He just couldn’t wait for his first time being on a big stage and it had real actual red curtains too! Dinner was a quick affair for Wilbur that night, he scoffed it down and narrowly avoided choking on his peas many times. His parents, on the other hand, took their time with their food. Couldn’t they see they were going to be late for the rehearsal if they didn’t hurry up? Wilbur loudly voiced his concerns from his place on the stairs, his guitar case next to him and his shoes united. His parents laughed at his eagerness and assured him they had plenty of time before they needed to leave the house.
Finally they arrived at the theatre. Phil was waiting for them by the door and Wilbur ran to hug him. The man showed him the dressing room he would be waiting in before his performance the next day as his parents went to find a seat in the audience. All the performers were called up one by one in the order they would be in the next day. Wilbur noticed while looking around at everyone in the room, he was the youngest one there and by a lot. Everyone else was so tall and Wilbur suddenly felt very nervous but for a different reason than before. He huddled closer to Phil, not wanting to get lost in the sea of legs around him.
At some point during Wilbur’s experience of feeling like a tiny shrimp surrounded by great white sharks, his name was apparently called. He let Phil take him by the hand, lead him back through the dressing room corridor and onto the stage from the wings. Wilbur had to squint his eyes as he tried to see what was going on through the darkness. His grip on Phil’s hand grew tighter. Wilbur did not like the dark. The knelt on the floor of the wings together so Wilbur could take his guitar from his case and give it to Phil for tuning. As Phil did so, Wilbur looked around him as he felt his body start to shake. He wrapped his arms around himself, tucking his hands under his armpits for comfort. Phil looked up from the tuning pegs and at the child next to him. He put the guitar down on his other side and placed his hand on Wilbur’s shoulder in comfort.
“Come on, mate. It’s your turn now. You’ll do great.”
The person who had been on the stage just moments before had left on the side opposite to the pair. Phil helped Wilbur up, pushing the guitar into the boy’s hands so he could grab the chair Wilbur hadn’t noticed until now. Wilbur practically became Phil’s shadow as they walked to the middle of the stage. With the chair set in the right place, Phil gestured for Wilbur to sit. The boy hesitated for a moment, staring at Phil in betrayal as the man left him alone with only a thumbs up in farewell.
Wilbur took his seat and moved his guitar into a more comfortable position in his arms. He only now realised he had forgotten his footrest at home. His eyes moved up to look out at the audience. Even though the lights on the stage weren’t properly lit yet, it was still much brighter up there compared to the rest of the room. Past the end of the stage it was so dark. He couldn’t see his parents anywhere - not that he could make out anybody else’s face either, it was too dark! He didn’t know where Phil had gone either. But if he couldn’t see them because of the darkness, could his family see him? What if they didn’t know he was there and left him all alone in the big, dark, scary theatre forever?
Tears filled his eyes in a blink and a painful sob ripped through his chest. He began to hug his instrument and slumped forward, curling around the thing, its body poking at his ribs. Wilbur didn’t know what to do. His parents can’t help him if they can’t see him. He was stuck on the cold metal of the too tall for him chair he was on.
If he couldn’t make out anything in the darkness before, it was impossible now with the tears clouding his eyes. That was why he didn’t notice the body moving swiftly towards him, or the kind hands reaching for him until they made contact. Wilbur looked up at his saviour. He could just make out through his sobs, the green jumper of his music teacher. Phil took the guitar from him with one and with the other scooped him up to hold him like one would a koala or toddler. He staggered under the extra weight of the kid for a moment, before adjusting Wilbur to hold him with both hands.
Phil carried Wilbur all the way offstage and back into the corridor where his parents were waiting. Wilbur reached for his mum the second he saw her. It took all three adults to calm the boy as he was inconsolable for a long time. When his howls had turned to sniffles they finally managed to get the boy to explain what got him distraught so quickly. It was then he vomited up his fears all in one breath. The adults listened carefully and assured him that yes, the audience can see you even if you can’t see them and no, they wouldn’t just leave him to fend for himself if they couldn’t find him. They also tried comforting him further by saying he didn’t have to do the real thing tomorrow but that unfortunately caused Wilbur to start blubbering again. He wanted to perform! He just didn’t like the dark. He voiced his thoughts out loud and his parents promised they would figure something out for him. What they didn’t know was that Wilbur was making plans of his own.
***
The next day passed very slowly in Wilbur’s opinion. He found it even more impossible to sit still now that he knew he wouldn’t be scared of the dark in the theatre anymore. He made sure of that instead of sleeping last night.
When the time came to go back to the theatre again, Wilbur didn’t feel nervous at all. Actually he was very excited this time, wearing a new black shirt and his regular school trousers. He was going to be very brave and he was going to play his guitar in front of everyone and he was not going to cry this time.
Phil met them at the door again just like the previous day. This time he was the one to initiate the hug instead of Wilbur though. He wished the boy good luck and explained that he couldn’t go backstage with him this time but that if he needed any help he could ask any of the people wearing black polo shirts with the theatre’s logo on. Wilbur knew what that looked like but he wouldn’t need help anyway so it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t he thought. His parents announced that it was time for them to get to their seats (front row!) and that meant it was time for Wilbur to set off too.
Proudly, he marched into the room he was shown to yesterday, head held high and following the signs that had been helpfully set out. He saw all the other people there getting their instruments out now instead of in the wings like he had done previously. He decided to wait until later, when he was called, to open his case.
He didn’t have long to wait as being so young meant he was one of the first acts. The people around him ignored him mostly, not having much interest in interacting with a child but a few of them did give him encouraging smiles, incorrectly guessing yesterday’s tantrum had started from stage fright.
When his name was called, he carefully opened his case so as not to ruin his hard work. In one hand he clutched his guitar’s neck and in the other was his footrest, which he didn’t forget today. He made his way to the stage all by himself, except for the worker that followed him opening doors. She didn’t mention the little trail that was being left by the boy on their short trek. The woman waited with him in the wings until it was his turn. Once the previous act exited stage right, she took on Phil’s role from yesterday - leading him to mid stage with a chair and then abandoning him completely. Wilbur was not scared at all this time. Not only did he now know what to expect but also the plan he made last night had been put into place.
Wilbur began to pluck out the easily recognisable tune and the audience watched him, rapt. Some were impressed by the talent such a young child was displaying but all were amused by the glow-in-the-dark stars that had been stuck onto the tiny instrument with copious amounts of cello-tape. The wide gaps between the pattern of stars suggested that the tape had not been all that successful in keeping everything attached to the body of the guitar.
When Wilbur finished his performance, he stood and bowed to the audience as a thunder of applause reached his ears. After picking up his footrest he walked offstage, right into Phil’s waiting arms. When he got there, Wilbur did not know but he did appreciate the congratulatory hug from the man. Even if said man was laughing the entire time. Wilbur didn’t know what Phil found so funny - he thought his performance was great.
***
Wilbur fell asleep on the car ride home that night, adrenaline having finally worn off. His dad carried him up to his bedroom and gently laid him under his farm animal patterned duvet, placing the boy’s well-loved blue sheep friend under his arm.
Both parents decided to ignore the star-shaped gaps left in the paint of Wilbur’s ceiling.