"This is a song I like to call Lonesome Road."

He took a drink of water from the glass next to him, picked up his guitar and started playing. He had played this song a hundred times, and had grown tired of playing it. As he played the notes and sang the words, he knew he was not playing it with any emotion. It was stale and tired and he was angry with himself for giving such a limp rendition of a song he once loved and long ago played with all of his heart. As soulless as his performance of the song was, he knew these people would applaud regardless, and that was what really made him feel sick inside.

As the second verse came around, he looked up. A woman had entered the room. She was much like any of the people who came to drink at the kind of bars and coffee houses that he played in, but there was something else. The more he looked at her, the more he felt the emotion coming back. When he sang the chorus of Lonesome Road for the second time, it sounded nothing like the first time. The electricity was flowing through his fingers, the notes were coming alive and he sang the words with passion. Instead of simply repeating the words he spent so many years singing, he tore into them, delivering them from his soul.

Her eyes did not leave him. From well across the room, he could see them shine and smile at him. The song that had gone so flat buzzed with more life than it ever had. So much energy flowed through the guitar player that he conceived and created a completely new verse without missing a beat. He played and sang the new verse for her, looking at her and hoping she understood what was happening.

The rest of his audience continued talking and absently watching him play, but she smiled and raised her glass to him. He nodded and smiled. The new version of Lonesome Road came to an end. The room filled with polite clapping and a few random cheers. He said his usual "thank you" to the crowd and reached for his glass of water. Looking up, he found her standing beside him. She took his hand in hers and smiled.

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