The following playlist is paired with an original narrative story. There are four songs in the matching playlist and each combination of song and story corresponds with the four seasons in the order: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This story follows four snapshots of a relationship as it begins and changes as the seasons go by.
Saw You In A Dream
Spring
The soft murmur of conversation fills the room, while the occasional clinking of silverware interrupts the pattern of discussion. Noah and Valerie are seated at a table by the window, enjoying fresh cups of coffee. As the clouds break, beams of sunlight illuminate the interior of the coffee shop, and the pair finds themselves in a natural spotlight as their table is sat perfectly in the center of the light streaming in.
Noah glances around at this sudden change in lighting, and with a small nod of approval to himself, he takes in a big breath and gently takes Valerie’s hand. At this, Valerie shoots him a confused look, but doesn’t pull away.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Val.” He says tentatively. Valerie gives him a curious look, but doesn’t say anything.
“Would you go on a date with me?” Noah asks. Valerie doesn’t respond right away, and looks at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression. Seconds begin to feel like hours as Noah waits for her response.
Hundreds of thoughts race through Noah’s mind. Should he have waited longer to ask? Did he misinterpret their time together? Had he made a mistake? Was she rea-
The tender squeeze of his hand brings Noah back from his thoughts. He looks at Valerie and is met with the brightest smile he had ever seen from her. His heart skips a beat, and he finds himself matching her expression.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask.” Val responds, and she squeezes his hand once more.
Revvin’ My Cj7
Summer
Val and Noah stroll hand-in-hand through a park. The canopy of trees shades them from the harsh summer sunlight. Val’s laughter joins the ensemble of a babbling creek, singing birds, and leaves rustled by the wind. She gazes at Noah fondly as he points out the various types of plants that they pass, and as hard as she may try, she can’t help but laugh whenever he can’t come up with the name of a plant as his face takes on a look of intense concentration.
She squeezes his hand lightly, and he turns to kiss her forehead cupping her cheek gently with his other hand.
Out Like a Light
Fall
“Hey Val,” Noah squeezes her hand briefly. It’s somewhere between the hours of 11 pm to 3 am; Noah and Val had lost track at this point. They had driven far out past the outskirts of town to stargaze, and ended up deciding to stay there for the rest of the evening.
“What’s up?” Val turns to look at him.
“Do you think we’ll make it far?” Noah asks as he turns hesitantly to meet her gaze. She doesn’t respond for a while, just stares out into the night sky.
“Yes.” She responds, and Noah turns away from her to look at the sky as well. While she had said what he wanted to hear, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about her answer. Not wanting to ruin the moment, he decides against bringing it up.
Dancing
Winter
“This isn’t working, isn’t it?” Noah asks, and places his hand on Val’s forearm, but she pulls it away.
“Hey,” he places his hand on her shoulder, “at the end of the day, I just want to make sure that we are going to be okay after this.” Tears begin to fall down Valerie’s cheeks. Noah leans forward to place one last kiss on her forehead.
“It’s okay. I don’t regret a single moment of it, Valerie.”
