The Lady's Cello

The Cello.

The girl sits on a chair in her small apartment in the old tenement building. The walls are a dirty off-white, and have not been painted in many years. The little furniture she has around the room is old and worn. The curtains are dusty.

Between her legs she holds a cello, as she sits on her chair and plays the instrument. With her one hand she strokes the bow across the strings, and with the other she manipulates the cords. The music floats through the room, echoes of the walls, and carries out to the street below. The music is soft and pleasing to the ear, as she plays. She is playing a bit of ‘Haydn’. The music floats gently through the night and lives on with an essence of its own.

Night has recently fallen, but it is black and quiet in the streets outside. The wind whispers and echoes around the corners, in tune with girl’s music. The world is hushed by the lulling waves of the distant sea. The break endlessly on the shore, and the world is always filled with sound of the living waves. The dark sea murmurs in the back night, as the wind blows.

And still she sits and plays the cello. The music fills the world and the minds of the passers-by in the street below. The vendor on the corner is packing away the goods of his stall into his old, run-down car. He stands a while and listens to the girl play, leaving his work for a few minutes. He smiles to himself, and then continues packing away his fruit.

A couple strolls across the pavement, and stop a while to listen to sound of the music coming from above. Then they slowly walk on down the street, as the music echoes and fades behind them. And still the girl in the dark room keeps on playing into the night.

The music floats and stirs through the quiet streets as she plays. The notes drift and waver. The sea murmurs with eternal approval in the black night, and a cool breeze blows in tune with the music…