Child of Fire

Closure [M]

Saint was teary-eyed listening to Princess play Chopin's Grande valse brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18. It wasn't because it was a sad piece, in fact, it was cheerful and boisterous, requiring a lot of light and repeated notes. They have been practicing it for a couple of weeks now and Saint was simply amazed how Princess could execute such a difficult piece for her age. Saint could never play it as flawlessly as Princess did. He has a persistent problem with tension in his wrist so it never sounded like it should. The student had long surpassed the teacher so Saint was equally eager to find Princess a scholarship grant that would help her enhance her skills. He found a handful in Germany and Spain that had great potential.

When the final notes reverberated across the music room, Saint had to stop himself from giving Princess a standing ovation. "Stop recording," he instructed his phone. 

"Recording stopped," the computer-generate voice obeyed immediately.

Then Saint clapped his hands, grinning so hard at Princess. "Well done, Princess, well done! That was brilliant! Bravo!" he couldn't stop praising the little girl.  Well, not really little anymore since she's turning 12 next week.

"You liked it?" Princess's voice was still laced with insecurity, as she approached Saint.

"Yes, you were fantastic!" Saint reached out to squeeze her talented little hands in reassurance.

"You think they will like it too?" Princess asked. How this girl is still unsure Saint can't fully understand.

"Of course! And with your brother allowing us to post your video on YouTube, I'm sure many more will appreciate your talent," Saint said, brimming with confidence to make up for the lack of it in Princess.

"My...my left side is not seen, right?" 

Saint nodded, "No, it can't be seen."

Princess heaved a big sigh of relief. "That's great then!" A smile in her voice finally appeared.

"Hey," Saint said suddenly. "Did you ever think of not having me as a teacher because I'm blind?"

"Of course not," Princess denied swiftly. "Sometimes, I even forget that you're blind. You know so much and you've taught me a lot. But most of all, what's important to me is that you're nice!"

"You're nice too. I like that about you," Saint said meaningfully, hoping Princess will gain more confidence about herself.

Princess stayed silent, moving to sit beside Saint on the bench.

"You know what, Princess? My mother used to tell me that -- Manners will open doors that the best education cannot (*Clarence Thomas*). What that means is, good manners are more important than being intelligent, being rich or being beautiful. Growing up, instead of asking me about my test scores, she always asked me if I was being nice and polite to my teachers and fellow students."

"I don't remember much about my mom," Princess shared. "I remember she gave good hugs. My brother always tells me that I'm pretty but sometimes I think he's just feeling guilty. He works hard and I know he tries his best to give me everything I need but I wish he'd just be around more."

"Oh, I..." Saint's smile fell. "I actually felt the same way as you when I was a little kid too. I used to be angry at my parents for always being busy, then I got angry at myself for being selfish. My mom and dad, you know, they help so many kids, so many people. I couldn't make up my mind for a long time but as I got older, they took me with them and I started to like doing what they do. I started to understand. And I realized that many problems could have been avoided if people were just nice to each other more."