The Screaming Violin

My mate and I had a good deal of time on our hands when we discovered a violin amidst the moving boxes. The bow was falling apart and needed to be restrung, and the strings as well were showing the signs of neglect and needed replacement.

Generally I am advised that showing your appreciation for a musical instrument by touching the strings is like showing your appreciation for a person by touching their eyes. However in this case, little could be done to damage the strings any worse so I was permitted to play with them as I saw fit.

I soon orchestrated a game between myself and my mate. At various hours when it was least expected, I would take up the violin and bow and find a clever place to hide. And then I would play...

I would saw passionately at the violin. The old strings would obey me as best as they could but they could emit nothing more melodious than a piercing and consistent scream. And so the violin did scream and the voice tore through the house and reached my mate through whatever distraction took priority earlier.

My mate would be forced to come and seek me out and come closer to the scream of the violin to find where I hid. I had a few favorite places, behind the coat rack, inside the shower, behind the door, under the bed, and so on.

I would gleefully continue playing until pulled from my hiding spot and relieved of my instrument. The game was great fun and it made me smile to hear the pitter-patter of a tortured soul running through the house in search of the violin.

The game came to an abrupt end the day my mate took the violin, returned it to it's case and locked it shut with a key. I've recently been looking at violins available to me to purchase and I'm considering reintroducing this little game.