The Missing Piece of a Piano By: Sean Roberts
Author's Note: All feedback is appreciated. Please send to seanr_13@yahoo.ca
Bar 13
Mr. Klein asks Faye and Daniel to stay behind after class. They sit in two chairs facing his desk. He looks through some papers on his desk and hands Daniel the Chopin part for the violin. The part Keith and he had written together.
"What's this doing here?" Daniel asks, turning towards Faye, a worried look crossing his face.
"Faye gave it to me this morning," Mr. Klein says. His kind, understanding tone of voice has returned. "Daniel it's really quite incredible. From looking at these notes I can see that when played, this would sound very good. I don't know if you know how hard it is to write such an accompaniment. Well, of course you know, you wrote it! Faye says you wrote it with a friend?"
"Yes," Daniel says. "He passed away a few years ago. I-I thought that since Faye had decided to play the piano piece in the concert, I could accompany her with the violin, but we tried playing it and it's much too difficult for me, which is why I've decided against it."
"I see. I'm very sorry to hear that." Mr. Klein surveys his students for a few moments. Daniel can tell from his teacher's face that Mr. Klein desperately wants to hear the piece. "Daniel it's of course your choice. But, umm, would you mind very much if maybe another student played it, if you don't want to?" Sudden anger swells up inside Daniel. The suggestion to him is ludicrous. But he keeps in mind that he is speaking with a teacher and he does not allow it to show.
"Actually," he says, "I'd rather that, umm--"
"Right, Daniel. I understand. But thank you for letting me see this. And if you happen to change your mind I would be very excited to hear it played."
Daniel is, of course, angry with her for showing the piece to Mr. Klein. She tells him that she did it because of how badly she wants to hear the piece again. She wants him to play it. She insists on meeting him, in the music room, early the following morning.
He sits in a chair and she hands him a violin. Her hands fall on his shoulders. "You'll do fine," she whispers in his ear. The music is open in front of him. He faces the front of the room so he does not see her sitting at the piano but he hears her sitting down. She presses some of the keys to get her bearings.
He starts playing and when the piano begins to accompany him he slips once again into the music. He goes into the world where Keith now lives. The boy is there with him; but this time Faye is there too. They both watch him as he plays; they watch his bow moving back and forth and his fingers creating different notes: the balance involved in playing an instrument. And the sound that comes out is beautiful.
Neither Keith nor Faye move. They simply watch him and he watches them, looking from one to the other, until the piece finishes.
He is back in the music room. He lowers the instrument from his chin and he turns around. Faye is watching him, smiling at him.
"This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard," she says. He returns the smile and then agrees to play at the concert.
Mark has kept the violin in his closet, on the top shelf. Daniel takes it down carefully. The violin does not move in its case because the case is a perfect fit for it and the instrument is the perfect fit for its container. The creator and the receiver were the same way.
Doris stands up suddenly when she sees the instrument in his hands. She puts down the book she was reading.
"You've come to play something!" she says. "Can I hear?"
"Sure." He can think of no reason to say no. He cannot say that he might not be able to play. Doris tells him that she can't leave the counter and he tells her he will be back with some music. He does not want to play the Chopin. He wants to play something easy; something that he knows he can play without having to concentrate on the music.
He returns with a Bach. He leans the music against a stack of books and then sits on a chair that he brings from another area of the library. The violin comes out of its case along with the bow and he smiles at Doris. He tries not to think about the music or the smell that never stops coming from his instrument. He reads the first few notes and then positions his fingers and brings the bow across the strings, continuing to read ahead. He plays the piece quickly. Every time Keith comes into his head he pushes the image out. He listens to the sound more technically. He makes himself aware that what he is hearing are simply vibrations of strings caused by the bow; caused by the movements of his hands.
It seems as if the instrument has grown with him. It was built for his size at fifteen but at seventeen, even though he has grown, the violin fits him perfectly. The sound engulfs the library and at its dramatic ending Doris claps. "Oh that was wonderful!"
Daniel lowers the violin. He stares at the music. He reads a few bars in his mind and he can hear the notes more clearly than he ever could before.
"Thank you," he says to Doris.