A French Girl In New York
Page 25
And throughout this year
You’ve tried all sorts of beats
And strained our poor ears
Jazmine laughed then sobered up and chanted solemnly:
Now you’ve made your choice
Now you will reveal
The instrument you feel
Will complement your voice
Matt said simply:
Be good to it
Entertain ears and soul
Never part from it
Finally, Maude took a deep breath and ended the chant:
Have tons of fun
Play from night til dawn
Happy Birthday, Ben
This party’s just begun
They all clapped and hugged a beaming Ben with several echoing Happy Birthdays.
“I know you are all dying to know which instrument I’ve chosen, and you won’t have to wait much longer,” Ben started once the room quieted.
“Oh, come on, Ben, just tell us,” Jazmine exclaimed impatiently.
“If I recall correctly, you made us wait quite some time Jaz,” her father observed.
“I remember,” Ben put in. “We waited so long the ice cream cake started to melt.”
“That didn’t stop you from downing two-thirds of that cake all by yourself,” Cynthia chided.
“I didn’t want it to go to waste!” Ben protested.
“This is beside the point. Ben, please proceed,” Victoria urged.
He opened his case and took out his instrument. It was long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which were two large tuning pegs and, at the bottom, a small sound box covered with python skin on the front end. Two strings were attached from the pegs to the base.
“What’s this?” Jazmine asked.
“It looks like a very thin violin,” Cynthia observed.
“This is an erhu,” Benjamin said. “Also known as the Chinese violin. I’ve been taking lessons with my teacher Yu Jong, for a couple of months now, and she says I’m a natural,” Ben grinned sheepishly.
“What are you going to play?” Victoria asked, her eyes sparkling. She loved discovering new instruments.
“It’s called ‘Ballad of North Henan Province,’ which is a province in China.”
He placed the erhu solemnly on his lap in an upright position, took his fiddle, and started playing. Maude understood right away why it was called a Chinese violin. Although not played the same way, its sound was close to that of a violin.
She watched Ben as he used his left hand to alter the tone of the strings while his right hand dexterously led the bow across the strings. The Ballad varied from slow to faster themes, retaining a peaceful melody that refreshed the mind, lifted the spirit, and could appease the most restless disposition. It enthralled its audience who listened in stunned silence and breathed in the enchanting notes of an instrument that had awed and amazed audiences for centuries since ancient China.
Maude curled up on the sofa, a faint smile on her lips. Ever since she’d set foot in New York City, she had discovered so much about herself. When she’d arrived, she was just a French girl in New York who spoke faltering English, had no family, no real identity, and only a limited knowledge of music. As she looked at her new family and listened to Ben’s erhu she felt alive. She knew who she was, where she came from, and felt that the world was rich with different beats, instruments, and rhythms that she would spend her entire life discovering.
She also felt something she has never felt before, an acute certainty she had never before experienced, a knowledge that made her feel warm inside.
She was home.
THE END
About the author
Anna Adams is a French author presently living in Paris after having spent her childhood in the United States. She enjoys writing and reading young adult novels. She loves music, art, shopping, hanging out with friends and roaming in the streets of Paris, or writing in small French cafés.
She is currently writing the second novel in the "Maude Laurent series." The sequel to "A French Girl in New York" will be released in June 2013.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, please don’t hesitate to contact Anna Adams at:
annaadams333@gmail.com
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