x
Breaking News
More () »

WATCH: Flooded piano gives family a final melody

It was a simple gift of calm in the storm.

A flooded piano delivered one final song to a family in Friendswood.

15-year-old Pega Pishkar played the haunting melody for her father, while floodwaters sloshed on the floor.

"We thought at maximum it was going to be one day," Pega's dad Kambiz Pishkar said. "Well, we end up getting stuck in there for five days."

The Pishkars got about 3.5 feet of water on their ground floor. Pishkar said they'd never before had water in the house.

"It came out real fast. In less than two hours, the water came from the street all the way up to the side of the door," he said.

The family huddled on the second floor for five days, with food, water and gas but no electricity.

With such close quarters, tensions rose along with the floodwater - until Pega made a decision.

"Pega came downstairs and said, 'I want to play piano for you all,'" Pishkar recalled.

He captured the moment, which is now on YouTube

Pega stood in water up to her calves and played her parents' favorite melody.

It was a simple gift of calm in the storm - one that Pishkar said brought tears to his eyes.

"This thing happened to us. It will get us closer to each other and, at the same time, we will have something to remember," Pishkar said.

Pega said despite the floodwater impacting the sound, she played on.

"I could hear it was kind of getting weird, but I was just-- it was just something normal to do, and I just wanted to make everyone happy," she said.

Unable to say goodbye just yet, the family moved the instrument into another room, doubtful it can be saved.

"This is out of tune," Pega said, plinking one of the keys. "I can hear it and it's kind of difficult. Like, it's not sounding right."

Pega's parents -- Iranian Americans who immigrated to the US in their 20s -- said despite their losses in Hurrican Harvey, the family is grateful.

Talking about volunteers, Pishkar said, "the people, they came in. They walked down the street. 'You need help? You want the sheet rocks out? You want the trash out? You want the furniture up?' They came and helped us."

Pega's mom Maryam said she told her daughter, "'You know, we are very lucky to live in such a country like this.' And hopefully when (Pega) grows up, she can help other people."

Out of tune and possibly beyond repair, the Pishkar's flooded piano will always serve as a reminder that a gesture of love can bring a measure of "normal" to a dissonant day.

The family plans to repair and clean their home while they stay with friends. Sadly, the piano is waterlogged beyond repair, making the final melody one to cherish even more. Already, the Pishkars have received offers to give them a free piano.

The song is called Mariage d'amour, by composer Paul de Senneville.

Before You Leave, Check This Out