The Pencil Window

Ages 15-18

Chagit sits at the piano with two pages of music on the stand. The second lies under the first.

A little rectangle in her pencil surrounds one bar halfway down the second page. She drew it yesterday, after the same place went wrong twice.

The top corner of the first page is soft and bent. She uses that corner to turn back.

Chagit begins.

The opening rolls beneath her fingers. Her right hand carries the tune while her left moves through the lower notes.

At the pencil window, the left hand comes in on the third beat. Her right hand is already on the next note.

The two sounds crowd together.

She turns back to the first page and begins again.

She plays the opening three times. Each time, the left hand arrives late at the window, and the music stops.

The easy opening grows steadier.

Chagit puts her left finger on the note just before the entry.

She begins there.

One, two, three.

This time the lower note comes beneath the right one. She plays the next two bars slowly.

Then she goes back to the note before the window.

On the third beat, her left finger slips onto the neighboring key. The wrong sound rings out.

She finds the next note and plays it. There is a gap before her right hand joins in.

Chagit folds the first page behind the second. Its bent corner disappears.

She places her left finger on the note before the window again.

The short stretch comes out slowly. Once, the music stops while she finds a lower key. She keeps her eyes on that line and plays the next note.

She goes on past the window and plays the six remaining bars slowly.

The last chord sounds and fades.

On the stand, the pencil window sits beside the entry. The first page is folded behind it.