He had a guitar that sounded like he was coughing, but he didn't care. He was fond of it, you know? He's none other than Mack. He had bought that guitar many years ago, when I say many I mean many. He bought it with his savings from a summer of work, so he had to work hard to get it. The affection he had for it was mainly due to the fact that this was his first electric guitar and the one with which he started in this world of music. The first time is always special in everything, and having your first instrument is almost the same.
His love for music and especially guitars began when he was a young student still in school. At that time there was a musician who was a famous guitarist who was on everyone's lips. The boys at school liked to imitate him and wanted to be like him. And in Mack's case, this was no different at all. He really liked to play it. He had a small plastic guitar at home that his parents had given him and in his imagination he imagined that he was playing. This famous musician was called Egar and he was his idol to follow.
He grew up listening to his music and wishing to grow up one day to be like him. That is why one summer when he was on vacation he started working as a pizza delivery man. With what he earned in those 2 summer months he was able to buy the guitar, his first guitar. Once he had it he began to learn on his own to play it. Then his parents took him on the weekends to take some classes so that he could learn a little easier. The time came when he already knew how to play very well and what he liked most was playing the original songs of Egar, his idol. His goal was to learn to completely master playing the guitar so that one day he could collaborate with Egar and fulfill his dream of playing with his idol.
Just when he was close to achieving his goal, something very sad happened. It turns out that Egar's managers informed his fans that he was retiring from music completely and that he would not play or give any more concerts. They also said that Egar would not accept visits or any more collaborations. This was terrible for Mack because his dream was to be able to play with Egar and now that possibility that he had always hoped for had vanished. He felt that he had literally lost a loved one, because he saw Egar as a father. It is not surprising that after this incident he spent years asking himself the same question: Why did he stop playing?
On the Internet he only found crazy theories that were hard to believe, which only increased his curiosity to know what had happened to him to have left fame. Some said that he had gone to live in a mountain, that they had seen him working in a supermarket, that he was in a hospital. They were all hoaxes, because nothing was confirmed. Of course, this incident did not stop Mack in his career, because he had to finish what he had started. She played and gave concerts often, and also released several albums. Her career was booming and she was gaining more and more recognition. During this period she got married and now has a nice family. Of course, this does not mean that she has forgotten about Egar, who is and will always be her idol.
It often happens that by chance when we stop looking for something, those things appear on their own or come to us. In Mack's case, it seems that luck was with him. One day after doing some work at his record store, he decided that he wanted to go have a drink at a nearby café. The store had run out of powdered coffee so he urgently needed a drink. He crossed the street and went to the café on the next block to buy a cup. When he entered and got to the bar, he saw someone who seemed quite familiar to him, but at that moment he didn't know who it was. The woman who was serving at the bar told him to sit down for a moment and that in a few minutes they would give him the coffee.
Mack sat down next to the man who was looking down at the bar and began to look at him surreptitiously to see who he was working for, because he thought he had seen him somewhere, or at some concert. He didn't even know himself. By chance, Mack turned on his phone to check the time and the background image was of Egar playing, and that was when he realized that in fact that man was Egar himself, the problem was that he wasn't wearing the usual clothes that he always wore and he didn't recognize him at first sight.
Now, there was a problem, he already knew it was Egar, but the problem was what the hell to say to him. Mack isn't exactly good with words. After a few minutes that seemed like hours to him, he decided to talk to him. He just said, Hi, how are you? Egar looked up and said a bit coldly, Can I help you with something? Mack felt like he was a little kid, he had so many things to say and ask him. But he had to calm down because otherwise he wasn't going to get anywhere. He just said, Are you Egar right? Back he said, Yes, I'm Egar, why are you asking, do you need anything? Mack laughed right then, more out of relief than anything else. He had finally been able to meet him in person.
Not to get too involved he just answered, I'm Mack, well, no one famous or anything like you, but I grew up listening to you. You're the reason I started playing guitar. Egar didn't even flinch, he just told him he was glad to know. And then he asked him another question. Are you still playing? Mack said yes, and then he asked him a question back, the one he had been waiting to ask him for years. Your songs were great, why did you stop playing?
Egar's answer surprised him because he hadn't expected it. He had stopped playing because his wife had died several years ago and he never felt the desire to play again. In Egar's case, his love for music was largely due to his wife. Almost all of them were dedicated to her and others about their experiences together. So when he lost her, he felt that he couldn't continue without her. Mack understood everything in the end and left him alone and didn't want to continue with the subject.
But it didn't end there. They agreed to meet again to chat another time when tempers and memories had calmed down a bit. Mack gave him the address of his store in case he needed something one day. Egar was very grateful and stopped being so cold with him; they were now like friends. About a week and a half later they saw each other again at the café. This time, things went differently. Now Egar was more willing to talk and listen to him.
Mack took the opportunity to tell her that he would love for her to play again one day and he was sure that his wife would have liked him to continue his career. Besides, even though she was not there, he could continue playing for her. He could dedicate songs to her about the beautiful life they had lived together and how much he came to love her. Egar looked at him almost crying and told him that it had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him with such humility and that he had never seen things from that angle. After this hard conversation they ended up laughing because they had started a beautiful friendship.
Egar confessed to him that even if he wanted to come back it wouldn't be easy, because it had been a long time since he had set foot on a stage and it was like new territory for him. But Mack told him not to worry, because he would count on his support to come back. He recommended that Egar give a concert with him. Egar thought the idea was good so he accepted. In the following days Mack's team and Egar's old team got together to give a big concert. Fans came, many fans to see the concert and especially to see Egar back. Egar promised Mack that after this concert he would return to music and that he would love to form a band with Mack. For Mack it was like a dream come true, he had managed to play with him and now he would form a band with his idol. It was more than he could ask for. It was the happiest day of his life.
Credits: The images used are free to use and royalty free. They were taken from Pexels.
