Music Box ALP2018

Hunched over his work table, glasses with three levels of magnification balanced on the bridge of his nose, Jeremy never seemed to notice the activity around him. Sometimes it was loud. Louder than he would like it to be with the buzzing of so many voices. Other times it was so quiet he could almost hear the sound of the tools working their way through the wood as he carved it. Every detail, infinitesimal but equally necessary, had to be just so.

Jeremy had lost track of how long he had been working on this piece. It seemed like a whole lifetime had gone by. Still, he spent his days slowly, carefully, creating his masterpiece with exquisite skills it had taken him a lifetime to master. He had managed more than a few great pieces in his time. But this one... This one was special. This one was not for a paying customer. This one was for the love of his life. The woman he had dedicated his every waking moment to. And it had to be perfect.

The buzzing sounded again and he ignored it as he always did, focusing on his work. This would truly be his greatest accomplishment. It would be magnificent! And he knew his wonderful wife would love it. She saw it in a dream and described it to him so accurately and in such amazing detail that he could see it too. Now it was just a matter of time until she could hold it in her hands and marvel at the love and craftsmanship that turned her dream into reality. Jeremy could hardly contain himself thinking of the moment he would present it to her.

Here was another of those really tricky parts. He had cut himself on the last one trying to hold the cutting tool so steady for this most intricate work. But it was necessary. The wood was carved literally a grain at a time to guarantee the results were exactly as he needed them to be. Slowly now. Slowly. Jeremy pushed the cutting tool through the wood in a smooth arc joining perfectly with the last cut he had made. The free-hand curves were the hardest part. There was no pattern to follow and they had to be identical or the symmetry of the piece would be lost. Jeremy held his breath as the last tiny sliver of wood fell away from the cutting tool. He exhaled loudly and wiped the sweat from his brow. He flipped his glasses up to admire his handy-work. His heart leaped with joy knowing how his wife would love this most treasured gift. He sat quietly inspecting his work as the buzzing nearby threatened to derail his silent celebration.

“And who do we have here?” Dr. Wilson inquired. Dr. Wilson was new to the hospital and though he had reviewed the patient files couldn't yet put faces to the names.

“This is Jeremy,” the Charge Nurse replied. “He has been here almost twenty years, since his wife passed away. He had children who have since passed also. According to them he was making his wife a very ornately hand carved music box. He had made several in his life but this one was his passion. Hell, it was his obsession. He was so absorbed in his work when his wife fell ill that time sort of stopped for him right there. He just couldn't deal with it. He hasn't spoken since. He just sits here quietly working on his music box. He came here with some wood working tools but he cut himself once so we had to take them away. It didn't slow him down though. He just keeps working away, all day every day. It seems to make him happy and he keeps to himself so we just let him do his thing.”

The end.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Nice treatment of the theme. Like it.

a reply to: DictionaryOfExcuses

Thank you very much. It just kind of popped in to my head so I ran with it.

That was very well done. A neat twist on the theme and it really worked for me.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Nicely done.
Sounds like most of the "normal" people around here.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Thank you very much. This was a great theme. :-)

a reply to: tinymind

Haha... True. And thank you. :-)