Fiction: Group 1
Midnight in Minor
Macau Anglican College, Wolfsgruber, Dominique - 8, Fiction: Group 1
t was a cold winter night with strong wind that made my teeth rattled. My mother and I were on a ferry
ride to Hong Kong.The one hour sailing felt like forever, as I could not play with my I-Pad due to my
motion sickness.
If it was not for piano competition the next day, I would rather stay at home. It was my first competition, and
I had been practicing very hard for months.
The next day, my mother took me for dinner and visited the academy for a 15 minute practice at the
competition venue. My teacher suggested me to have a look at the venue and had a practice just to feel the
piano. It was surely a great idea, as I was overwhelmed with the elegance of the stage and the size of the piano.
I stood by the side of the piano and took a small vow. In my mind, I heard the audience clapping, and I saw
my mother look at me with her big smile. My chest felt happy, I could feel the blood rushed to my cheek. My
teacher's voice suddenly appeared to me. I took a few seconds to breathe, sat elegantly, adjusted the chair, and
smiled before start playing.
"You can do it.We all are proud of you, " my teacher whispered.
We went straight to bed after the practice, as I was yawning non-stop in the subway.“It had been a long day, ”
my mother said,“sleep tight for a big day tomorrow.”
I hardly could eat my breakfast, I was too nervous to chew anything in the morning. My mother asked me to
finish my eggs and orange juice.Then we walked to the academy. I was the third contestant.We registered
early and I sat with other contestants. My mother sat at the first row of the audience. I started with playing C
minor scale for warming up.The sound was echoing beautifully and my mother clapped. I felt confident, and
started playing my song. I called it “Midnight in Minor”. It took me few days to compose the song, but more
than two months to make it perfect. My father loved to hear me playing this song no matter what time of the
day.The song told the story of a little girl who loved to watch the stars and waited until she saw a soothing
star before going to sleep: "I have a wish that I need to ask every night. I want my grandmother to stay
healthy as we are coming to spend Christmas with her for the first time in eight years of my life." As I played,
I imagined my hometown in winter, snowing, all white and peaceful. My grandmother walked with her
supporting stick to the kitchen to make cherry compote and peach jam for me. I would play with the
toboggan and throwing snow ball to my cousins, until the church bell rings for six times, a sign for dinner.
Without realizing it, the song finished and I heard vaguely the audience clapping. I felt so wonderful and
relieved. My mother escorted me to the registration table to excuse ourselves, as we needed to go to the
airport to meet my father and fly home.“Grandmother, mission accomplished. Now we are on the way to
spend Christmas with you! I excitedly exclaimed.
I did not win the competition, but I was awarded for the most innovative composer for my age category. It
was the most rewarding experience for me.
I
