I am a violin. Plain looking as I am, I have a wonderful sound. I used to play soft, sweet rhythm in the hand of my young master. But now, lying in the complete darkness, I'm totally discarded, forgotten, waiting for my end in this dead silence. The flown time appeared like dream in my declining memory. Those bitter and sweet days made an imprint¹ on my vision that is all I still get. So here comes the story about beauty, music, friendship and loneliness.

 

My father was an intelligent master craftsman². Though his gift didn't bring him any fame or fortune, his zest³ for the violin making had never been worn away. One day in an odorous, dirty sty he discovered a wedge of spruce, which is light and strong---perfect for the violin. Joyfully⁴, he trade a packed of food for it with the puzzled countryman. After three weeks' hard work, my sister and I were born into this world. My father couldn't afford the expensive varnish⁵ for us. But I can assure you, plain as we are, we are the first-class violins with the hypnotic sound you've never heard!

 

How long did I take in the shelf to wait for my master coming up? Two years, three years? Memory puzzles herself to reply this question. Besides, I always fell confused about the time in human's world. But it's definitely a long, long time. All I can recall about that is many, many people have passed by without even offering me a glance. How helpless unattractive I am! Finally I got a terrible feeling that my master perhaps would never show up, and my beautiful voice would be buried forever without even a chance to be heard.

 

It was a day like usual, colourless and gloomy. Like a dream a little girl, probably 6 years old, suddenly came up to me. For some reason, her beautiful eyes looked so empty and sad. But she was actually looking at me! Excited, my long lost hope rose up. I hold my breath, dreading⁶ to freight her away. Her mother came up and asked softly: Are you sure? The little girl cast her eyes down to the floor, she answered in an almost unread voice: Yeah. I cried for this single word. It sounded like a word from the heaven. At last, I found my master! Thousands words I tried to say, thousands questions I'd like to ask: Is she a good player? What kind of music is her favourite? She reached her hands for me. Her fingeres felt so cold! Oddly, she didn't give a try on me like most other masters would do. Lowering her head, she followed her mother out of store and down to the street. Few minutes later, with my excitement for the future calming down, I soon realized there was something wrong. My little master was obviously deeply troubled and upset. She grasped me tighter and tighter with her little fingers. She was fighting hardly a urge to cry but failed. Tears swelled⁷ up to her eyes.

 

One drop of her tears fell apart on my skin. It was hot, and …hurt. She grasped me tighter and tighter with her little fingers as if I was the only thing left in the world she could hold on. I got a strange feeling that this little girl was frightened, frightened to death. The mother finally sensed her daughter's unusual emotions. She stopped with doubts, and pulled her daughter.

 

"What's wrong, honey, you are trembling."

 

The little girl raised up her tearful eyes towards her mother. For a while, she tried to regain⁸ command of herself and behaved well, but she failed and wept a deep, abandoned sobbing⁹.

 

"Oh, mum, please, please don't send me away. I promise I would be good. I know Papa hates me because I were not a boy. But I will try, try to be good…" she suddenly couldn't continue her desperate appeal. Overwhelmed by a mixture of sorrows interlarded with great fears, she gave away to uncontrollable weeping.

 

The mother was obviously taken back by her daughter's imploration. She frowned, as if she was labouring at the efforts to organize her thoughts into the soothing¹⁰ words. Then she held her daughter's little trembling body into her arms.

 

" Honey, your daddy and I have a rough time. We fight a lot, you know. We are trying to figure some way out, but both of us hate to get you involved. So we decided¹¹ to send you to Star, it's a very good boarding school. Auntie Liu is my best friend, and I am sure she will take care of you. Mum hates to leave you, but I have no other choice, honey, when you grow up, you will understand." Though the reassurance¹² of her tone did hold some quality of comfort, it surely is not strong enough to sweep all my master's worries away. She wept, tried to absorb in every word her mother just said. Try to grow up soon, so she could get a better understanding, but now she just found herself caught up in a strong sense of helplessness. She murmured in a stammered¹³ voice: " But, but Cousin he told me Star is a terrible place, a charity school. He said only children from poor family or unwanted children would be sent to charity school. He said I am a great trouble, and you fight a lot because of me. Now, you and dad don't want me any more…." She broke off, her breath came in short, hot gasps¹⁴ as if the courage she gathered to speak aloud those painful words suddenly collapsed¹⁵.

 

" Never believe a single word from He. How could he put such silly things into your head?" Her mother drew herself up and spoke¹⁶ in an assured voice, but I could sense a trace of annoyance¹⁷ and bewildering misery¹⁸ to creep into her tone. How complicated human's feelings and how easily to be detected! Without any more word, the mother wept the tears away from her daughter gently, and then imprint a kiss on her forehead.

 

" You are so dear to me. I don't care what the others said. Don't worry, once everything settled down, I would fetch you as soon as possible." Her voice was lower than whisper. As if those words were only said to herself, not to anyone else.

 

To cheer them up, the mother changed to a lighter¹⁹ subject: " You know, auntie Liu is a good violin teacher. You should learn it hard so you could play a song for me when I pick you up home."

 

The word of home did some positive effects on my little master. She held me close to her chest and nodded heavily.

 

But for some unknown reasons, my heart sunk down. The wild ecstasy²⁰ I'd just experienced melt away. My master knew nothing about violin. Even she tried hard to learn to keep the promise with her mum, but without fond of music from her heart, she could not go far. The future, uncertain and unpredictable, seemed lay before me to the unknown darkness.

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