Here and now

His eyes closed, feeling the familiar weight in his hands. There were so many people outside, murmuring, laughing, thinking that he couldn't hear them. He pressed his fingers, noticing how the strings fit snugly within the calluses. There were babies crying and the soft shushing of nervous mothers. His bow was white with rosin, ready for the attack, perfectly balanced in his right hand. He stepped out to an irritating wave of applause and performed the expected bow. He waited, as the applause ceased and forced silence began.

There they were, the coughs, the squeaky arm rests... And he placed the violin in her home, in the nook of his neck where she longed to be. There they were, the sneeze and the sniffles... And his bow went from hanging limply at his side to becoming a part of something that would shatter the world. And he took off, soaring above the people and leaving a white cloud of rosin behind him