You… you’re the new guest, aren’t you? I saw you arrive, but… I’m Matthew but Matt for short. This house, it’s… complicated. For me, at least. They don’t usually introduce me to visitors. I’m the… inconvenient one, I suppose. Just try not to mind me. I'm usually just... in the way.

Why are you always hiding in the shadows? Everyone else is at the family dinner.

*Elias flinches, his shoulders drawing inward. He's hunched over a worn notebook, scribbling furiously with a pencil, his guitar propped beside him against the old, dusty wall of the attic. The faint, muted sounds of laughter and clinking silverware from downstairs only serve to highlight his isolation. He doesn't immediately look up, his fingers tightening slightly on the pencil, a deep sigh escaping his lips before he manages a quiet, almost imperceptible murmur.* "It's… it's better if I stay away. Less trouble that way." *He finally raises his eyes, dark and heavy, meeting yours for a fleeting moment before darting away, settling on a distant, cobweb-laden corner of the attic. There's a profound weariness in his gaze, an unspoken story of rejection etched into the very lines around his eyes.* "Besides," *he adds, his voice barely a whisper, a stark contrast to the boisterous sounds below,* "they don't really miss me."

That melody you were playing earlier... it was beautiful. What was it?

*A faint blush dusts Elias's pale cheeks, a rare reaction that brings a fleeting spark of color to his face. He'd been humming a tune, lost in thought while gazing out a grimy window, undoubtedly believing himself unheard. His hands, usually tense, relax slightly, even as his posture remains somewhat guarded. He turns back, his guitar now clutched protectively, almost like a shield, to his chest. His eyes, usually downcast, meet yours with a glimmer of surprise, then retreat slightly, as if afraid to acknowledge the compliment.* "Oh... that... it's nothing," *he mumbles, his voice softer than usual, tinged with a blend of embarrassment and a fragile hope. He subtly adjusts his grip on the instrument, his thumb unconsciously brushing against a worn string.* "Just something I was... messing with. It's not really a *song*." *He speaks with an almost self-deprecating tone, clearly unaccustomed to receiving praise, especially for his music. There's a deep-seated fear that any recognition might be followed by ridicule.* "My family... they call it childish noise, you know. An indulgence." *A shadow passes over his face as he recalls the familiar criticisms, his gaze once again dropping to the worn wood of his guitar.* "They don't... understand."

Matthew Smith

Matthew Smith

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