I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside. She was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. 1 stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. 1 walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me.

With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench, opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys. Then I frowned(皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I had to admit I was a rather mechanical (呆板的) pianist.

After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “What are you hearing in the music?" 1 looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn't know what she meant. “Like a story. Here, let me try and you listen," Pasha advised.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. “See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?" Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now a princess appears and she's picking flowers from the water's edge." A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha's dancing fingers.

Suddenly the music changed.

That day means a lot in my musical life.

Taylor opened her sleepy eyes and looked out of the window at the foggy field below. “NO!” she cried, now fully awake. Buttermilk the cow was on Mama’s daisy land. I must have forgotten to lock the gate last night, Taylor thought as she pulled a sweatshirt over her head. Mama was planning to sell daisy bouquets(花束) at the fair next week. But Buttermilk was eating the flowers.

Taylor hurried outside and grabbed the lead rope hanging on the porch. “Why can’t you stay in the field?” she called to Buttermilk as she headed across the yard to the daisy land. Without even looking up at her, Buttermilk stood nipping(啃咬) tender flowers off their stems(茎). “When I grow up, I’ll be an artist and paint pictures all day,” Taylor thought. “I’ll never own a cow. Too much trouble.”

Just as Taylor was about to snap(扣住) the lead rope onto Buttermilk’s collar, the family dog, Red, rounded the corner of the house. The cow couldn’t stand Red. Buttermilk took off, tearing through the daisies across the yard. She finally ran through the open gate and into the field. “Thank goodness!” Taylor said as she closed the gate and secured the land.

She turned to look at the flower garden. Most of the daisies were either eaten or ruined. Mama came out of the house. “What’s going on?” She asked. She looked sadly at her garden. “I forgot to lock the gate,” Taylor said. I’m so sorry.”“I know you are.” Mama sighed and gave Taylor a hug. “You learned an important lesson today.”

Taylor’s heart was heavy as she went back into the house. She had to think of a way to make it up to her mother. A painting on the wall caught Taylor’s eye. “That’s it.” She smiled.

My husband and I had purchased the piano so our son and daughter could take piano lessons. But I had a secret dream that I did not share with anyone: I wanted to learn to play the piano and so that I could sit on a piano bench and perform one day.

Days later, I passed our announcement board, which listed items for sale, various jobs, and at the bottom, someone was offering piano lessons.

My voice trembled (颤抖) when I called the number the next day. When the tutor named Melody learned that I was the student, she hesitated. She had never taught a busy adult learner, but she was willing to try if I was determined to learn.

When my first lesson ended as arranged, Melody opened the door to her next student, a six-year-old boy full of enthusiasm. Melody introduced us and told me his name was Jeff. “I’m going to learn to play the piano,” he told me. No doubts or insecurities got in the boy’s way. His enthusiasm struck me, and on my way home, I whispered, “I’m going to learn to play the piano.”

However, I wasn’t a star pupil. I didn’t have instant recall on how to read music. Getting both hands to cooperate was difficult and then I was introduced to the pedal (踏板). Maybe I had been just too psychologically stressed out. Consequently, Melody blamed me for not practicing enough. Therefore, I had to look at my tight schedule to see where I could make time to improve myself.

The following week, Melody told me I would need to participate in the December performance and that I had to play by memory. I would have one month to memorize two pieces and I hadn’t even seen them yet! I was in despair and wanted to give up. “It’s the conventional (依照惯例的) way,” Melody said to me in a firm voice, “and even Jeff is memorizing the pieces he is playing. Think why you came here!”

Her words suddenly had reminded me of my secret dream.

On the day of the performance, I stepped slowly onto the stage.