Jade sets her guitar aside for a moment and takes another careful look around. It really bothers her that there is still a record on her old player. She floats over to inspect it more closely. The player sits on an old, small table in the corner of the room. She remembers playing all kinds of records on that player, there wasn’t a day when she hadn’t used it.

Jade reaches the player and carefully removes the record to inspect it. It is a beautiful vinyl, with fiery details along the edges, but she didn’t recognize it. Hoping to find its cover, she begins scanning the area. It seems unusual for anyone to leave a record lying out without its cover, so it has to be nearby.

Sure enough, next to the table, half-hidden under dust, she finds the empty record cover on the floor. That’s probably why she hadn’t noticed it right away. Jade picks it up and brushes off the dust to see what record it is.

After a few swipes, it is revealed to be a limited-edition record of one of her favorite albums by a local band called Smokey Bandits. They had blown up one summer, but of course, Jade knew about them long before. They had always been a big inspiration to her when she started writing her own songs.

Jade is stunned. She knew about these limited-edition records but never managed to get her hands on one. She sets the cover down on the table and picks up the record again, placing it carefully on the player. She gently lowers the needle onto the vinyl, and as the turntable starts to spin, the room is filled with the familiar sounds of some of her favorite songs.

Overcome with joy, she can’t help but play along. She knows every song by heart. As the album progresses, she goes from playing wild riffs, to smooth melodies, to complex solos. By the time the album is nearing its end, Jade isn’t ready to leave this state of musical bliss. She feels as though the music is pulsing through her veins.

She continues playing, completely losing herself in the moment. Floating all over her old apartment, she performs aerial spins and movements while producing unique sounds on her guitar. And just like that—it clicks! She starts playing her unfinished song, fueled by the burning inspiration from the album she just discovered. Effortlessly, she adds a whole new section to the final chorus. Now, all she needs is the outro to finish the song!

Jade stops playing and slings her guitar over her back. Excitement surges through her as she twirls in the air. She floats back to the record player, ready to properly store the vinyl. Taking the cover from the table, she looks for the opening to slide the record inside, but then something catches her eye. There is a small note tucked inside.

Curiosity gets the better of her. She pulls it out and sees that something was written on it.

Dear Jade,

You’re the most badass chick I’ve ever met. You make me treasure every single memory we make together, both with and without the band. I hope this gift ignites your spirit as much as you have kindled mine.

Brock

PS: How did you like my surprise during the concert at the club? Let me know!

The record was a gift from Brock. Did he take the picture Jade found in the garage? Her mind is filled with questions once again. It seems as if Brock liked her more than she initially thought. He was never really a very communicative person; had he kept his fondness for her to himself all this time? And what surprise was he talking about?

Jade tries to remember the day of the concert. She recalls arriving with the rest of the band, having a small drink beforehand, and getting along with all of them. They gave a great show—one of their best, she thought. She remembers finishing the show, but the audience demanded an encore. They were specifically calling out for Jade; people really loved how wild she could be with her guitar. She recalls going on stage alone to perform a personal song, one that wasn’t meant to be played with the entire band. It was the song she never finished. She can remember standing on the stage alone, starting to strum her guitar, the crowd going wild, but after that, her mind just goes blank.

Jade is left very confused. Why can’t she remember what happened after that? Also, why would she decide to play an unfinished song as an encore for such a big crowd? More importantly, why is it so hard to remember all of this, and why is this the first time she thought of it again? And she still didn’t know what Brock meant by the surprise at the concert.

It is clear to Jade that to get answers, she will have to go back to the place where it all happened. It is her last stop anyway, so it will be like killing two birds with one stone, she figures. With that thought, she takes the record off the player, puts it in its cover, and lays it back on the table with the note on top, readying herself to leave for the club.

She flies over to the window, pausing for a moment to look at the moon. All she ever wanted was to finish her song. She sighs, telling herself that she will still finish it, but she also needs to find out why it is so hard to remember that night at the club. She nods to herself and phases through the window, heading for the club.

It didn’t take long for her to get there. One benefit of being a ghost is being able to fly everywhere, it saves a lot of time you’d otherwise lose in traffic. She arrives at the club and enters by phasing straight through the roof.

The room is pretty dark, but that is no longer a problem for Jade since she became a ghost. She slowly moves through the space, looking around carefully, trying to remember the night of the concert. She sees the bar where they had their one little drink, the door to the backstage area where they dropped off their things, and she sees the stage where they gave that banger of a show.

She floats over to the stage, reminiscing about all the amazing shows she had played there with the band. This club is actually where they first met during an open mic night. All four members had signed up separately, and they all lost to some lousy boy band they were sure had bribed two of the three judges. Their shared anger at those judges led them to form the band. The following year, they destroyed the competition and secured a deal with the club owner, giving them the opportunity to perform there once a month for a year. Without that deal, they never would have become as popular as they did.

Jade lands on the stage, standing exactly where she used to stand, looking down at the empty room. But as she lands, something feels different. It isn’t the emptiness of the room; she had rehearsed in front of that empty space plenty of times when she was alive. It is something else. But what?

She floats around the stage, looking at it from different angles, but still, she can’t pinpoint what it is. She lands again and walks a small distance across the podium. Then she notices it: it didn’t squeak like it used to!

Jade takes a closer look at the flooring and realizes it had been totally renovated with new planks. She is shocked. She remembers talking to the club owner about the stage flooring; how much she hated the squeaking and asking him to replace it. But he had refused.

Apparently, some famous rock star from the '60s had once performed there. The guy was a living legend to his father and him, and he had attended that concert as his first ever. When he inherited the club, he swore never to replace the planks, in memory of that night. Changing the flooring was out of the question for him.

So why is Jade now standing on a renovated podium? The owner hadn’t passed away, she would have seen him at the graveyard. Were the planks damaged in some way? Could it be connected to do with the night she blacked out? Could it have anything to do with Brock’s surprise?

What do you think happened the night of the concert?