A familiar Song

I walked slowly, basking in the warm sun. Leisurely heading out to run errands, I heard a song. Now, normally this wouldn't stop me in my tracks, or send chills down my spine, or make me drop my bags, but today it did. And I had to find out why. The tune was haunting, but in a good way. It gathered up speed, but didn't feel rushed. It was cheerful and happy, but with weight behind it, like a wise mother who hides a dark secret so her children won't worry. I turned towards the song and ran, forget errands I HAD to find out what this song meant.

Running through the crowds I came upon the source of the magnificent song, an old man with a violin. There was a crowd of at least thirty people around him, his hat overflowing with coins. I waited until the haunting melody was over, and the crowd gone to ask him about the song. He told me about a woman his father knew who had told him of a man her mother had known, so far back that they'd lost track along the way. This woman had sung this very same song for his father, and his father had played it on his flute for him. He told me of all the cities he'd been to where people had stopped in their tracks and asked about this song. A song that everyone knew, but no one knew why. Nobody could tell why they were drawn to this song amid the bustling city with plenty of other musicians playing plenty of other songs. But they came, drawn like moths to a flame. The power that this tune had was incredible. It gave out confidence, bravery, happiness. It evoked feelings that no one understood. It was single handedly the most wonderful and terrible song there ever was. I turned to the old man and asked if he had taught anyone the song yet. And he said "no, I was waiting for someone to come along and ask,"