The rain poured down like a river. It’s strange because it’s summer time in Arabella, a little town where the loneliness could be found at every corner. Tom sat at the counter in the bar called “Cornerstone”, was waiting for opening time, watching TV. He didn’t always watch news, but the picture on the screen made him stop and pay attention to.

2 days ago

The sun was going to leave the horizon. In the room, the radio played the last song before it turned to news time. “Here comes my favorite song, here I am singing along.” Sally said, raised a whisky bottle to the mirror’s image in front of her, a short blonde hair lady with her skin white as snow, her face looked older than most 27 years old woman. Next to the mirror, a cherry red electric guitar lay down on the floor beside the wall that full of rock and roll posters, especially David Bowie, and at the room corner, there was a classic turntable with many vinyl records.

As she tried to drink, but not even a drop of whisky come out from the bottle.

Damn you whisky, don’t drive me crazy.

She couldn’t live without alcohol; even though it destroyed herself, her life and her career. Many times she tried to quit, but she always ended with another bottle. Her addiction was too much, she couldn’t stand the effect. In other word, without the whisky Sally will die.

I need to find a place, where they serve me happiness.

A clock’s dial on the table told her it’s bar open time. Sally needed some drink, before her hands started shaking again. She remembered how much pain she had when she locked herself in a room without any whisky. Never again, I have enough pain. Sally grabbed her wallet, wore her favorite jacket, walked across all the empty bottles on her room floor, opened the door and headed to her destination.

Cornerstone, one of the 3 biggest bars in Arabella, the only place that served alcohol with rock music, decorated in 60’s style, a stage with instruments on there, on the other side was a long drink counter, a warm light show all kind of colorful bottles in the background, around the walls were full of famous musician pictures with their autographs, many of them started from here, this place was like their university, but for Sally, Cornerstone was her home.

“Oh hey, Sally.” Tom, an old black guy with deep voice who worked his whole life as a bartender at Cornerstone, one of the best drink makers in this town, looked very happy to see Sally walking into the bar and sat in front the counter.

“What brings you here? Guess you’ve run out of whisky again huh?” asked Tom

Sally replied nothing but smiled back to him. With that smile, Tom suddenly noticed something. He turned to the shelf behind and picked a whisky bottle which is Sally’s favorite. But her voice came to his ears, “Put the Jack away, let me taste your best today.” That’s the first time Sally asked Tom to make her his drink. Even Tom was on the top list of bartender, but Sally never really tried his skill. Tom put the bottle back, and started making his famous drink, Eden’s Gate.

People came to the bar one by one, but not much as the day before. On the first table, an office worker who came here every day after his boring work was smoking his cigarette. Next to him was a scout who’s looking for a new rock star. On the stage, a rock band performed for their first time, hoping that scout will come and talk to them after the show, and in front the stage were some of their friends who came to cheer the band.

At the counter, Tom was staring at Sally while she enjoyed the Eden’s Gate. Her smile’s always beautiful, but today it’s just different, I don’t know if in a good or bad way. She often comes here, but I’m afraid she doesn’t come for whisky today. He thought.

“I should have tried this so long; this is good as a Bowie song.” She said while sipping a famous drink. Tom wasn’t surprise, everyone said to him like this, that’s why he’s the best.

The band finished their last song, but the scout didn’t seem to appreciate, not even looked at them.

“Can I sing up there, can I play on there?” Sally asked Tom if she could perform on the stage. That made him wonder even more. “Sure, we don’t have many customers here today, do whatever you want.”

Sally smiled and walked slowly to the stage, her body leaned back and forth because of Eden’s Gate. Spot lights were too bright, she couldn’t see much. She picked a guitar, plugged it to an amplified, and turned to a microphone. How I miss this place, everything started on this stage. She strummed a guitar in her hands, sang a song which was her own. Her voice was a kind of what pure rock and roll sounds like. She looked so happy, felt like she was going back to 19 again. It’d been a long time she didn’t stand on the stage of Cornerstone, where her life changed forever, where she called it her home.

“Is that Sally Quene? That woman on the stage.”
one customer at the counter asked Tom.

“She used to be. A thousand drinks ago.”

Tom knew, inside that happy smile on the stage, there was a lonely girl, a girl who needed someone to help her out of her world. He knew exactly because he had seen her since the day she walks in here.

Sally, she’s rock star. She started from performing at Cornerstone, dreaming someday she would be like her hero, David Bowie. Not many girls that chose rock and roll music, her voice, her look and her style were good enough to attract a scout to invite her to become an artist. She became famous; Sally Quene was her stage name. Everything seemed to get better and better until the death of her best friend. Sadness introduced her to alcohol, the devil that killed every life and dream. Whisky became her new friend, she addicted, and that brought her life down to hell. Sally Quene became Sadly Queen. People started to forget her name.

In Tom’s eyes, she’s still a rock and roll queen. Even her face looked older than she was, her long blonde hair has gone, or even her voice cracked up a bit because of alcohol. But her passion in music never went away.

You still rock me, Sally.

Sally walked down from stage. No Applause for her, everyone just looked with pity at her. She still kept smiling, like she always did after the show, she didn’t pay attention to the crowd at all. She went back to the counter. A customer gave her a pen and little piece of paper and asked her for an autograph. He’s a big fan of Sally Quene, that’s why he asked Tom to make sure he saw a lady who he had every records of her. Sally wrote something on that paper and gave it back to him. What he received was her name with a cross on the word Quene.

Tom, who was there, picked a glass; prepared to make another drink for her. He knew she needed alcohol all the time. But Sally grabbed his hand, no more, her eyes told him. She put her arms around him, pulled his body close to her. Sally smiled with tears ran down her face, she hugged him for a while. An old bartender didn’t say anything. He realized something inside her mind. She just wanted to restart again, but it would not work. People would remember her as Sally Quene, a drunkard, a star that could never shine again.

He saw her walk away until she left the bar.
That hug made him feel like he would never see her again.

Outside the room, the sky was dark, so dark that stars never shone as bright as this before, even brighter than this rock star. Sally locked herself inside, sat beside her bed. It’s warm tonight but I feel cold inside. Her face looked like she’s already dead, her hands shook heavily, she crawled to her turntable, tried to control her hands to turn on her favorite album. For 7 hours she hadn’t drunk any alcohol.

She found the exit of her world.
Death was the only way that led her to happiness. She thought.

She was silent, listened to the music, and didn’t move until the moon was gone. The morning lights sneaked through the windows and blew the darkness in her room away. In that moment, she saw her best friend, waiting for her behind those lights. With the last track of David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars played along, rock and roll star laid down on the floor and let her eyes close. Sally Quene slept in eternity.

“Rock and Roll star found dead in her room.” said a news reporter guy on the TV screen. It became big news in Arabella. Tom seemed to be the only one in this town who wasn’t shocked about this tragedy.

When someone dies, everything about them turns to gold
Tom switched the TV off. He looked outside the window.
“Even the sky’s crying for you.”