The Old Lady
CENS 201 – Original Magic Tale
The Old Lady
It was at age ten when Andrea first heard a live orchestra play. Since then all she ever wanted was to play her violin in the orchestra. But not just any violin, Andrea wanted to play first violin. For years she had toiled in practice and shown great gains in musical talent for her efforts. But never had she had the chance to prominently show her talents to a greater audience. She was from a small town and came from humble beginnings. When she first heard of the student orchestra after arriving at university, she had her sights set on it.
Her professors and fellow students always praised her for her musical talent and her hard work in achieving that talent. Both her music professors and the concertmaster always told her that she could become a star, if only she continued her passion and devotion to her art. From year to year, it was always Andrea who shone the brightest amongst all the students in her class. During her final year, her big chance arose. The first violinist position at her university’s symphony orchestra became vacant. Auditions were scheduled two months in advance. The chance to become in the spotlight excited Andrea. It was all she could think about when she signed up for auditions.
The audition schedule was posted with the final list of audition applicants. An unfamiliar name was listed on the schedule. Neither Andrea nor her classmates knew who this new person was, until another classmate explained that it was a local high school student who caught the eye of one of the professors and was invited to audition. Andrea felt discomfort at the fact that she would be compared to someone with less experience than her but quickly brushed it off and thought that a high school student would be no match for her.
One day in between class and before the auditions began, Andrea was eating lunch when she overheard a wonderful sound. She was amazed by the skill of the violin player and had to see who it was. As she walked closer and closer towards the source of the music, she thought that it had to be a visiting musician. She never heard any of her fellow students play in such a wonderful way. When she reached the room and peered through the door and saw who was playing inside, she instantly felt a sharp unease. It was the high school student, her competitor, whose talent surpassed all of Andrea’s peers. She quickly withdrew her head from the door and began pacing around in the hallway. The confidence that she felt that she would be a shoe in for the role of first violin quickly evaporated. Her friends assured her that she was just as good as the high school student, if not more talented. They told her that all she needed to do was to continue her hard work of practicing the violin and she would be a likely and worthy contender for the role.
Yet days after her discovery, Andrea could not shake that simmering discomfort that began to fester in her stomach. She thought “I have been the top student in all my classes, I am the best violinist in this school” as she tried to reason with herself that everything will work out for her.
For the next few days, Andrea’s behavior became more irritable. Her friends could see that all she seemed to care about was to be noticed, to be famous. Her focus changed from being a hard working student to a paranoid worrier. Her friends tried to reason with her. They tried to tell her that there were more things to life than just being famous and not to get too caught up with Jennifer’s musical skills. But Andrea could not stop thinking about the one person who threatened her position as top violinist.
One day after class, a few days before the start of the auditions, Andrea got caught in the middle of a downpour while walking home. She ducked into a small store to hide to take cover. The bells on the door jingled as she walked into a dimly lit room full of peculiar baubles and antiques. There didn’t seem to be anyone inside the shop. Andrea stepped around the various displays to inspect the peculiar wares. Suddenly a voice spoke from a corner, “can I help you find what you are looking for?” An old lady slowly walked towards Andrea. “Oh I’m just browsing, thanks!” Replied Andrea. “I’m sure you want something, everyone wants something,” the old lady continued. “I’m just hiding from the rain, sorry for disturbing you! I’ll leave if now if that’s what you want,” Andrea said, feeling embarrassed that she had no intention of buying anything. “That’s okay dear, I understand,” the old lady said, “but surely you want something other than what you can buy.” Andrea was taken aback at the old woman’s words. But the old lady seemed harmless to Andrea, and was probably just a little bit senile. “Well I would love to be noticed and famous, I want to beat my rivals” Andrea replied, trying to humor the old lady. The old lady nodded, “not a unusual wish.” She continued, “if you want to be famous then I insist you take this good luck amulet”. She produced a tiny green bauble on a string and handed it to Andrea.
Andrea forgot about the bauble in her pocket the next day. When she arrived to class, her classmates stared at her with shocked eyes when they first saw her. Andrea was taken aback for a second but quickly regained her composure and approached them. Her classmates only looked more alarmed when Andrea walked closer. This was certainly strange to Andrea, she was a popular student and everyone was always happy to see her. “It’s her!” one of her classmates shouted, “she killed Jennifer!” People turned around in shock and stared at Andrea. Andrea was surprised, “what do you mean? Jennifer? That high school student?” Andrea looked shocked as everyone else. “I haven’t done anything! What’s going on?” She continued. “Someone call the police!” Andrea’s best friend shouted.
The police arrived along with a social worker. Everyone was so sure that she killed Jennifer. Andrea asked the detective what evidence they had against her. She was shown a video of the crime. But the figure in the video murdering Jennifer was not Jennifer, it was the old lady from the shop. “That’s not me! That’s clearly that old woman!” Shouted Andrea. The detective looked at her as if she was crazy. “Miss, the evidence is irrefutable, and what old woman are you talking about? The person in the video is clearly you,” the detective said. The local news headlines told the tale of Andrea, the jealous music student for months. Somewhere, in a dimly lit antiques shop, sat an old lady watch the news of the sordid story. “She became noticed and famous, and beat her rival,” The old lady said.
Word count: 1175