The third ring has rung, everyone came back. Fortunately, the person who had my seat has left, so nobody claimed it. The second part began. The announcer lady spoke fiery words and finished by naming the piece.
– …solo by Alexandra Tchernookova!
My heart jumped. My soul, my pride and sorrow, my angel. Little Sasha is performing her solo. I looked as careful as I could and forgot to breathe.
Everything in her had grace, no movement of hers could be named clumsy. She tuned with barely noticeable bow jumps, like a mother kissing her child goodnight. The grand piano began playing, Sasha put the bow into the strings.
God himself told my heart to sing. If it could sing, it would want to do it, but it wouldn't disturb the harmony, it wouldn't interrupt the perfection. I believed without any doubt that Sasha never makes mistakes, either at home, at school or on stage. Her hands seemed blessed by God's lips to me, the spotlight shining looked like a halo. My mind got blurred, but, oh my, what a pleasure it was to obey the blur and get away from all thoughts for the sake of just one of them, the final one, for this spark, this flash, blessing right before the ending, when it all ends, but you don't go anywhere, letting this thousand suns to swallow you whole instead.
A voice got me back from the hypnosis, a voice of a couple sitting close to me.
– Look, she's playing so well. I bet she didn't have a childhood.
– Yeah, it's either a happy childhood or hard work. On stage her whole life. What a shame we weren't given to a music school.
It seemed a knife sliced me. A lightning flashed in my brain and tore it through.
I remembered about all my sorrows again. I began pleading someone I didn't know, I asked for time to come back. Give me the possibility to live this life again, let it be doable. I'll wake up now, and this was just a rehearsal, and I'll be able to convince my poor single mother that I can be like Kesha. Let Kesha not be born at all, and she won't cry because of him, she'll get me into the music school instead of him. I won't be able to even speak yet, and only strings will cry in our family. Please, take my tears, and give me back my spring, just so I don't regret about the wasted summer in my winter.
The final note. The ending. Applause.