The Composition

An excerpt from “6 Blocks Home”

Sam played the piano, but it was a strange piece. Strange and beautiful. Tobias had never heard it before, and it had a different style than most of the other songs she played.

He stopped just outside the family room to listen, not wanting to disturb her…

There was a pause in Sam’s playing, and Tobias started forward, but then she started again from the beginning. He didn’t have a great ear, but he thought what she played this time differed slightly from what she’d just finished playing.

“I think she wrote it,” his mom whispered at his shoulder.

Tobias nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t heard her approach, and he flushed with embarrassment that she’d caught him listening.

But his mom listened just as intently. They stood there together, mother and son, letting Sam’s mysterious music seep into their souls.