The concert was fabulous, as usual. John Smith was definitely the best virtuoso in the world. Under his fingers, even Liszt’s most difficult pieces seemed to flow.
When the creature appeared on the edge of the stage behind John, everybody wondered. Was it a kind of those contemporary theatre happening included in the concert? Who had had the strange idea of making a character looking like an ET come on stage in the middle of the recital?
The creature stared at John, as if she had never heard someone play the piano. Then she turned towards the audience, looked at them in silence, wondering why these people were seated.
John continued his playing, until the final cascade of notes and the ending chord. But the audience didn’t applaud immediately. They were waiting for the creature to do something.
John looked at the people, wondering why they weren’t clapping. Then someone dared to clap, which started a burst of applause. Then the cry. The creature, surprised by the noise, shouted something in a strange language. John turned towards her, and felt so amazed he couldn’t say anything but “What… ? What… ? What…?”
The creature came closer to the piano, scrutinised it as if she had discovered something really strange, pressed a key, seemed pleased by the sound. John, petrified, stared at her as she seated in front of the piano and started to play.
As incredible as it may seem, the creature played the same piece, exactly like John, but a little better. The audience was stunned. So was John. This creature was imitating him, but the imitation was better than the original. Not faster, not louder, just… better. With more feeling, more heart, more… everything! Then the final cascade of notes, and the ending chord.
The applause was instantaneous, people stood for an ovation, cheering. The creature seemed shocked, shouted something in her mysterious language, and ran away. People cheered even more, delighted by the surprise ending of the concert. A little embarrassed, John bowed and bowed again. He didn’t dare to play an encore.
The next day, they announced on the radio that John Smith, after the concert, had asked to be left alone in his dressing room. That’s where he committed suicide.
