The Music

“Y’know, I’ve been thinking…what’s the point?”

Greebs was staring out into the night sky, leaning back in his chair while the campfire snapped and gently lit the surrounding area. Jib had just sat down by the fire with his guitar when Greebs had blurted out that question.

“..the hell you on about?” he asked.

“I mean…look up there. All of that. See those stars? They’re probably already dead. They’re so far away though that we can just see the remnants of their lives. I guess you could call it their shadow or..I dunno, legacy?”

Jib glanced up at the sparkling night sky, silhouettes of pine trees surrounding them. The moon was shining brightly and the sky was unusually bright this time – with stars as far as the eye could see. He then glanced down at Greebs, who was deep in thought and seemingly a little down.

“I mean really…what’s the point of..all of this? We’re born, we grow up, we do things, fall in love, do weird stuff for whatever reason then just..die. We’re gone in an instant in this universe, y’know? And the thought of that..the idea that those stars up there are totally beyond our ages and they’re already dead..like, why would anything matter if everything’s just gonna go away anyway. Y’know?”

Greeb was now looking down at the campfire, his scruffy face emitting a frown.

“Music.” Jib quipped.

“wha?”

“Music!”

“Whatcha mean, man? I’m freaking out here and you’re just saying ‘music’.”

Jib smirked and pointed up at the sky.

“You’re right. All of that up there. Probably dead. Or exploding. Either way, definitely gonna die. That tree over there? Probably gonna die, too. Me? Definitely. Considering how much I drink and eat, I’ll definitely cark it pretty fast. And yeah, you too. Everyone we know, everyone we love..even my little Sao. She’s gonna cark it one day too. And that day’s gonna hurt.”

Jib paused. The silence brought the volume of the campfire crackles and the soft breeze up.

“But..listen to that. The sound. The music. Be with it. It’s beautiful!”

He points to his guitar.

“This music here, too. That shit matters, dude. Yeah, maybe we’re all gonna die one day, and no one on this Earth or in the universe can really tell us why or how the hell we got here. Maybe we can explain how we evolved from fish or whatever they teach in schools, and we can also probably examine things down to atoms or quarks or whatever. I dunno, but we’re a pretty smart bunch. We figure stuff out with this big noggin’ here, even though mine’s not so great. But…that’s what makes it all a nice ride, y’know? We’re born, we’re in this world with no real plan, no real idea where we’re going, but we use our heads and we figure it out, and we do things because they matter to us. And they matter because one day, it’ll all be gone. You and me, brother. Your girl, my girl. We’ll be gone. But that’s why we cherish it.”

Greebs was silent, but a gentle smile with a glint in his eye could be seen.

“So..I don’t think we ought to be worrying about losing it all. Things change, people age, lovers lose, civilizations come and go, stars explode and expand, black holes eat things…and then it just goes on. So in the meantime, while we’ve got these big ass eyes, ears and heart, we can sit back, look up at the sky and enjoy the music. Be with it, man. And maybe you and me can leave our own little legacy like that star up there. A shadow for another stranger in this world to find and appreciate in a hundred years. Like some music. I mean shit..we know about music from thousands of years ago. We read stories from people who died before we even came to this damn land. That’s a beautiful shadow to tune into, man. That’s what matters. We’re stars in our own way, going out either in a wild supernova or a silent whisper. Either way, someone, somewhere – is gonna see and hear about us.”

Jib started strumming on his guitar gently. Greebs smiled and reached for his pocket, taking out a small harmonica.

“You’re right. Thanks, brother.”

“Any time, man. Let’s enjoy the music”.