The Shell

The boy saw the violin on the table. He knew what it was and what it does, and he also knew he could not make it do it. He sought to understand it in his own way. So he picked it up close to his face and looked at the planes of wood; he tilted it and looked at the thin width that made up the perimeter of the F-hole. He could not see any tree rings. Holding it away from himself, he tried again. He saw the sleek curvature of the wood and the spines that were the tuning pegs and the darkness of the F-hole. He brought the violin to his ear and found he understood. He heard the sound of the forest.



*** Note: While very high, I was reading a psychology book that mentioned a test where an image is shown and the patient must make up a story about the image. The example mentioned was a boy and a violin. This is the story I made up.